Absorbent articles having shaped, soft and textured nonwoven fabrics

ABSTRACT

Absorbent articles are provided that comprise shaped, soft and textured nonwoven fabrics. The nonwoven fabrics may be a topsheet and an outer cover nonwoven material of the absorbent article. A portion of a wearer-facing surface of the topsheet may have a TS7 in the range of about 1 dB V 2  rms of about 1 to about 4.5 dB V 2  rms and a TS750 in the range of about 6 dB V 2  rms to about 30 dB V 2  rms. A portion of a garment-facing surface of the outer cover nonwoven material may have a TS7 in the range of about 1 dB V 2  rms of about 1 to about 4.5 dB V 2  rms and a TS750 in the range of about 6 dB V 2  rms to about 30 dB V 2  rms. The nonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure provide soft materials with texture.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/683,661, filed on Jun. 12, 2018,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to absorbent articles having shaped,soft and textured nonwoven fabrics.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent articles are used to contain and absorb bodily exudates (i.e.,urine, bowel movements, and menses) in infants, children, and adults.Absorbent articles may include, but not be limited to, diapers, pants,adult incontinence products, feminine care products, and absorbent pads.Various components of these absorbent articles comprise nonwovenfabrics. Two example components that comprise nonwoven fabrics are anouter cover nonwoven material and a topsheet. Consumers desire thatthese two components, which form at least portions of the garment-facingsurface and wearer-facing surface, respectively, of an absorbentarticle, have a certain look and feel, while still providing superiorperformance. Superior performance for a topsheet may be a soft tactilefeel while also having texture for bodily exudate handling,breathability, and skin dryness. Superior performance for an outer covernonwoven material may be aesthetically pleasing texture communicatingsoftness and gentleness while being tactilly soft to the touch. Textureand softness are important attributes that consumers desire in these twocomponents. Typically, however, the more textured a nonwoven fabric is,the less soft it is and vice versa. As such, nonwoven fabrics should beimproved.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides absorbent articles comprising shaped,soft, and textured nonwoven fabrics that solve the contradiction betweentexture and softness. Typically, the more textured a nonwoven fabric is,the less soft it is. Likewise, the softer nonwoven fabrics typicallyhave very little, if any, texture. The present disclosure provides asolution to that problem by providing absorbent articles comprisingnonwoven fabrics with high softness and high texture. The presentdisclosure further provides a solution that solves the contradictionbetween high softness and high texture while simultaneously providingsome improvements in fluid handling, including rapid strikethrough ofbodily exudates and enhanced skin and topsheet dryness. Typically, thenonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure may form at least a portionof a wearer-facing surface (e.g., topsheet) and at least a portion of agarment-facing surface (e.g., outer cover nonwoven material). Softness,texture (i.e., smoothness), and/or stiffness may be measured by an EmtecTissue Softness Analyzer, according to the Emtec Test herein. Tactilesoftness is measured as TS7. Texture/Smoothness is measured as TS750.Stiffness is measured as D.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the presentdisclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of example forms of the disclosure taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a photograph of an example nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a photograph of an example nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of an example nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional illustration of a portion of the nonwovenfabric of the present disclosure, taken about line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a schematic drawing illustrating a cross-section of afilament made with a primary component A and a secondary component B ina side-by-side arrangement.

FIG. 5B is a schematic drawing illustrating a cross-section of afilament made with a primary component A and a secondary component B inan eccentric sheath/core arrangement.

FIG. 5C is a schematic drawing illustrating a cross-section of afilament made with a primary component A and a secondary component B ina concentric sheath/core arrangement.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view photograph of a tri-lobal, bicomponentfiber.

FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of an example apparatus for makinga nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a detail of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 7 for bonding aportion of a fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a further detail of a portion of the apparatus for bonding aportion of a fabric of the present disclosure, taken from detail FIG. 9in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a detail of a portion of the apparatus for optionaladditional bonding of a portion of a nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a photograph of an example nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12 is a photograph of a portion of a forming belt useful forforming a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional depiction of a portion of the forming beltof FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is an image of a portion of a mask utilized to at least in partcreate the forming belt of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is an image of a portion of a mask utilized to at least in partcreate the forming belt of FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 is a photograph of a portion of a forming belt useful forforming a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is an image of a portion of a mask utilized to at least in partcreate the forming belt of FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is a photograph of a portion of a forming belt useful forforming a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a photograph of a portion of a forming belt useful forforming a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 an image of a mask utilized to at least in part create theforming belt of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a photograph of a nonwoven fabric of the present disclosuremade on the forming belt of FIG. 19.

FIG. 22 is a perspective schematic view of a forming belt of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 23 is a plan view of a nonwoven substrate including nonwovenfabrics of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a nonwoven substrate including nonwovenfabrics of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a photograph of an example nonwoven fabric of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 26 is a photograph of cross section of the example nonwoven fabricof FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a Micro CT perspective view image of an example nonwovenfabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 is a Micro CT perspective view image of an example nonwovenfabric of the present disclosure.

FIG. 29 is a Micro CT image of a cross section of the example nonwovenfabric of FIGS. 27 and 28.

FIG. 30 is a Micro CT plan view image of the example nonwoven fabric ofFIGS. 27 and 28.

FIG. 31 is a graphical depiction of various benefits of the nonwovenfabrics of the present disclosure.

FIG. 32 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 33 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 34 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 35 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 36 is a photograph of a cross section of the example nonwovenfabric of FIGS. 36 and 35.

FIG. 37 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 38 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 39 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 40 is a photograph of a portion of an example nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 41 is a Micro CT plan view image of the example nonwoven fabric ofFIGS. 27 and 28 after experiencing additional processing.

FIG. 42 is a graphical depiction of various benefits of the nonwovenfabrics of FIG. 41.

FIG. 43 is an illustration of an example page comprising a plurality ofabsorbent articles.

FIG. 44 is a front perspective view of an absorbent article comprisingone or more nonwoven fabrics.

FIG. 45 is a back perspective view of the absorbent article of FIG. 44.

FIGS. 46-48 are example patterns of nonwoven topsheets of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 49-50 are example patterns of outer cover nonwoven materials ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various non-limiting forms of the present disclosure will now bedescribed to provide an overall understanding of the principles of thestructure, function, manufacture, and use of the absorbent articleshaving shaped, soft and textured nonwoven fabrics disclosed herein. Oneor more examples of these non-limiting forms are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Those of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the absorbent articles having shaped, soft and texturednonwoven fabrics described herein and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings are non-limiting example forms and that the scope of thevarious non-limiting forms of the present disclosure are defined solelyby the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection withone non-limiting form may be combined with the features of othernon-limiting forms. Such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded within the scope of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure provides shaped, soft and textured nonwovenfabrics directly formed on a shaped forming belt with continuousspunbond filaments in a single forming process. The nonwoven fabric ofthe present disclosure may assume a shape which corresponds to the shapeof the forming belt. The nonwoven fabrics of the present disclosureresolve the contradiction between softness and texture and provide hightexture while still providing high softness.

Photographs of representative examples of shaped nonwoven fabrics 10 areshown in FIGS. 1-3. The shaped nonwoven fabrics may be used as topsheetsand/or outer cover nonwoven materials, for example. The shaped nonwovenfabrics may also be used as other nonwoven components of absorbentarticles or in other consumer products, such as cleaning and dustingproducts and medical gowns, for example.

The shaped nonwoven fabric 10 may be a spunbond nonwoven substratehaving a first surface 12 and a second surface 14. In FIGS. 1-3, secondsurface 14 is facing the viewer and is opposite the first surface 12,which is unseen in FIGS. 1-3 but is depicted in FIG. 4. The term“surface” is used broadly to refer to the two sides of a web fordescriptive purposes, and is not intended to infer any necessaryflatness or smoothness. Although the shaped nonwoven fabric 10 is softand flexible, it will be described in a flattened condition the contextof one or more X-Y planes parallel to the flattened condition, and whichcorrespond in web-making technology to the plane of the cross-machinedirection, CD, and machine direction, MD, respectively, as shown inFIGS. 1-3. The length, L, in the MD and the width, W, in the CDdetermine the overall area A for the nonwoven fabric 10. As shown inFIG. 4, which is a cross section of a portion of the nonwoven fabric 10shown in FIG. 1, for descriptive purposes the three-dimensional featuresof the shaped nonwoven fabric are described as extending outwardly in aZ-direction from an X-Y plane of the first surface 16 (see, FIG. 4). Amaximum dimension of three-dimensional features in the Z-direction maydefine the maximum distance between the plane of the first surface 16and an X-Y plane of the second surface 18, which distance may bemeasured as the average caliper AC of the nonwoven fabric 10. Theaverage caliper may be determined via optical, non-contact means, or itmay be determined by instruments involving spaced apart flat plates thatmeasure the caliper of the nonwoven placed between them under apredetermined pressure. It is not necessary that all thethree-dimensional features have the same Z-direction maximum dimension,but a plurality of three-dimensional features may have substantially thesame Z-direction maximum dimension determined by the fiber laydownprocess and the properties of the forming belt, discussed below.

The nonwoven fabrics shown in FIGS. 1-4 (as well as other nonwovenfabrics disclosed herein) may be fluid permeable. The entire nonwovenfabric may be considered fluid permeable. Regions or zones (describedbelow) may be fluid permeable. By fluid permeable, as used herein, withrespect to the nonwoven fabric is meant that the nonwoven fabric has atleast one zone which permits liquid to pass through under in-useconditions of a consumer product. For example, if used as a topsheet ona disposable diaper, the nonwoven fabric may have at least one zonehaving a level of fluid permeability permitting urine to pass through toan underlying absorbent core. By fluid permeable as used herein withrespect to a region is meant that the region exhibits a porous structurethat permits liquid to pass through.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the nonwoven fabric 10 may have a regular,repeating pattern of a plurality of discrete, recognizably differentthree-dimensional features, including a first three-dimensional feature20 and a second three-dimensional feature 22, and a thirdthree-dimensional feature 24, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, inFIG. 1, heart-shaped first three-dimensional feature 20 is recognizablydifferent from the smaller, generally triangular-shaped secondthree-dimensional feature 22. The recognizable differences may bevisual, such as recognizably different sizes and/or shapes.

The three-dimensional features of the nonwoven fabric 10 may be formedby depositing, such as by carding, air laying, spinning from solution,or melt spinning, fibers directly onto a forming belt having a patternof corresponding three-dimensional features. In one sense, the nonwovenfabric 10 is molded onto a forming belt that determines the shapes ofthe three-dimensional features of the fabric 10. However, importantly,as described herein, the apparatus and method of the present disclosureproduce the nonwoven fabric 10 such that in addition to taking the shapeof the forming belt, because of the attributes of the forming belt andthe apparatus for forming the fabric, it is imparted with beneficialproperties for use in absorbent articles, garments, medical products,and cleaning products. Specifically, because of the nature of theforming belt and other apparatus elements, as described below, thethree-dimensional features of the nonwoven fabric 10 have intensiveproperties that may differ between first and second regions within amicrozone (described more fully below), or from feature to feature inways that provide for beneficial properties of the nonwoven fabric 10when used in personal care articles, garments, medical products, andcleaning products. For example, a first three-dimensional feature 20 mayhave a basis weight or density that is different from the basis weightor density of a second three-dimensional feature 22, and both may have abasis weight or density that is different from that of a thirdthree-dimensional feature 24, providing for beneficial aesthetic andfunctional properties related to fluid acquisition, distribution and/orabsorption in diapers or sanitary napkins.

The intensive property differential between the variousthree-dimensional features of nonwoven fabric 10 is believed to be dueto the fiber distribution and compaction resulting from the apparatusand method described herein. The fiber distribution occurs during thefiber laydown process, as opposed to, for example, a post making processsuch as embossing processes. Because the fibers are free to move duringa process such as a melt spinning process, with the movement determinedby the nature of the features and air permeability of the forming beltand other processing parameters, the fibers are believed to be morestable and permanently formed in nonwoven fabric 10.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1-3 and as understood from the descriptionherein, the distinct three-dimensional features may be bounded byvisually discernible (with respect to the interior of athree-dimensional feature) regions that may be in the form of a closedfigure (such as the heart shape in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the diamond shapeof FIGS. 2 and 3). The closed figure may be a curvilinear closed figure,such as the heart shape in FIGS. 1 and 3. The outlining visuallydiscernible regions may be the regions of the nonwoven fabric 10 thatare most closely adjacent in the Z-direction to first surface 12, suchas regions 21 as shown in FIG. 4, and with may lie at least partially inor on first plane 16 when in a flattened condition. For example, asshown in FIG. 1, first three-dimensional feature 20 is heart shaped, andas indicated as one example first three-dimensional feature 20A isdefined by a curvilinear closed heart-shaped element. A curvilinearelement can be understood as a linear element having at any point alongits length a tangential vector V, with the closed shape being such thatthe tangential vector V has both MD and CD components that change valuesover greater than 50% of the length of the linear element of the closedfigure. Of course, the figure need not be entirely 100% closed, but thelinear element may have breaks that do not take away from the overallimpression of a closed figure. As discussed below in the context of theforming belt, the outlining visually discernible curvilinear closedheart-shaped element is formed by a corresponding closed heart-shapedraised element on the forming belt to make the closed figure of a hearton fabric 10. In a repeating pattern, the individual shapes (in the caseof first three-dimensional feature in FIG. 1, a heart shape) may resultin aesthetically pleasing, soft, pillowy features across the overallarea OA of the second surface 14 of fabric 10. When the nonwoven fabric10 is meant to be used as a topsheet for a diaper or sanitary napkin,the second surface 14 of nonwoven fabric 10 may be wearer-facing todeliver superior aesthetic and performance benefits related to softness,compression resistance, and fluid absorption.

The present disclosure may utilize the process of melt spinning. In meltspinning, there is no mass loss in the extrudate. Melt spinning isdifferentiated from other spinning, such as wet or dry spinning fromsolution, where a solvent is being eliminated by volatilizing ordiffusing out of the extrudate resulting in a mass loss.

Melt spinning may occur at from about 150° C. to about 280° or at fromabout 190° to about 230°. Fiber spinning speeds may be greater than 100meters/minute, and may be from about 1,000 to about 10,000meters/minute, and may be from about 2,000 to about 7,000 meters/minute,and may be from about 2,500 to about 5,000 meters/minute. Spinningspeeds may affect the brittleness of the spun fiber, and, in general,the higher the spinning speed, the less brittle the fiber. Continuousfibers may be produced through spunbond methods or meltblowingprocesses.

A nonwoven fabric 10 of the present disclosure may comprise continuousmulticomponent polymeric filaments comprising a primary polymericcomponent and a secondary polymeric component. The filaments may becontinuous bicomponent filaments comprising a primary polymericcomponent A and a secondary polymeric component B. The bicomponentfilaments have a cross-section, a length, and a peripheral surface. Thecomponents A and B may be arranged in substantially distinct zonesacross the cross-section of the bicomponent filaments and may extendcontinuously along the length of the bicomponent filaments. Thesecondary component B constitutes at least a portion of the peripheralsurface of the bicomponent filaments continuously along the length ofthe bicomponent filaments. The polymeric components A and B may be meltspun into multicomponent fibers on conventional melt spinning equipment.The equipment will be chosen based on the desired configuration of themulticomponent. Commercially available melt spinning equipment isavailable from Hills, Inc. located in Melbourne, Fla. The temperaturefor spinning range from about 180° C. to about 230° C. The bicomponentspunbond filaments may have an average diameter from about 6 to about 40microns or from about 12 to about 40 microns.

The components A and B may be arranged in either a side-by-sidearrangement as shown in FIG. 5A or an eccentric sheath/core arrangementas shown in FIG. 5B to obtain filaments which exhibit a natural helicalcrimp. Alternatively, the components A and B may be arranged in aconcentric sheath core arrangement as shown in FIG. 5C. Additionally,the component A and B may be arranged in multi-lobal sheath corearrangement as shown in FIG. 6. Other multicomponent fibers may beproduced by using the compositions and methods of the presentdisclosure. The bicomponent and multicomponent fibers may be segmentedpie, ribbon, islands-in-the-sea configuration, or any combinationthereof. The sheath may be continuous or non-continuous around the core.The fibers of the present disclosure may have different geometries thatcomprise round, elliptical, star shaped, rectangular, and other variouseccentricities.

Methods for extruding multicomponent polymeric filaments into sucharrangements are generally known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

A wide variety of polymers are suitable to practice the presentdisclosure comprising polyolefins (such as polyethylene, polypropyleneand polybutylene), polyesters, polyamides, polyurethanes, elastomericmaterials and the like. Examples of polymer materials that may be spuninto filaments may comprise natural polymers.

Primary component A and secondary component B may be selected so thatthe resulting bicomponent filament is providing improved nonwovenbonding and substrate softness. Primary polymer component A may havemelting temperature which is lower than the melting temperature ofsecondary polymer component B.

Primary polymer component A may comprise polyethylene or randomcopolymer of propylene and ethylene. Secondary polymer component B maycomprise polypropylene or random copolymer of propylene and ethylene.Polyethylenes comprise linear low density polyethylene and high densitypolyethylene. In addition, secondary polymer component B may compriseadditives for enhancing the natural helical crimp of the filaments,lowering the bonding temperature of the filaments, and enhancing theabrasion resistance, strength and softness of the resulting fabric.

Inorganic fillers, such as the oxides of magnesium, aluminum, silicon,and titanium, for example, may be added as inexpensive fillers orprocessing aides.

The filaments of the present invention may also comprise a slip additivein an amount sufficient to impart the desired haptics to the fiber. Asused herein “slip additive” or “slip agent” means an external lubricant.The slip agent when melt-blended with the resin gradually exudes ormigrates to the surface during cooling or after fabrication, henceforming a uniform, invisibly thin coating thereby yielding permanentlubricating effects. The slip agent may be a fast bloom slip agent.

During the making or in a post-treatment or even in both, the nonwovenfabrics of the present disclosure may be treated with surfactants orother agents to either hydrophilize the web or make it hydrophobic. Forexample, a nonwoven fabric used for a topsheet may be treated with ahydrophilizing material or surfactant so as to make it permeable to bodyexudates such as urine. For other absorbent articles, the topsheet mayremain at its naturally hydrophobic state or made even more hydrophobicthrough the addition of a hydrophobizing material or surfactant.

Suitable materials for preparing the multicomponent filaments of thefabric of the present disclosure may comprise PP3155 polypropyleneobtained from Exxon Mobil Corporation and PP3854 polypropylene obtainedfrom Exxon Mobil Corporation.

When polypropylene is component A and the second polypropylenecomposition is component B, the side-by-side bicomponent filaments maycomprise from about 5% to about 95% by weight polypropylene and fromabout 95% to about 5% of another polypropylene composition. Thefilaments may comprise from about 30% to about 70% by weightpolyethylene and from about 70% to about 30% by weight of eachcomponent.

Turning to FIG. 7, a representative process line 30 for preparingfabrics 10 of the present disclosure is disclosed. The process line 30is arranged to produce a fabric of bicomponent continuous filaments, butit should be understood that the present disclosure comprehends nonwovenfabrics made with monocomponent or multicomponent filaments having morethan two components. Bicomponent filaments may be trilobal.

The process line 30 includes a pair of extruders 32 and 34 driven byextruder drives 31 and 33, respectively, for separately extruding theprimary polymer component A and the secondary polymer component B.Polymer component A is fed into the respective extruder 32 from a firsthopper 36 and polymer component B is fed into the respective extruder 34from a second hopper 38. Polymer components A and B may be fed from theextruders 32 and 34 through respective polymer conduits 40 and 42 tofilters 44 and 45 and melt pumps 46 and 47, which pump the polymer intoa spin pack 48. Spinnerets for extruding bicomponent filaments aregenerally known to those of ordinary skill in the art and thus are notdescribed here in detail.

Generally described, the spin pack 48 comprises a housing whichcomprises a plurality of plates stacked one on top of the other with apattern of openings arranged to create flow paths for directing polymercomponents A and B separately through the spinneret. The spin pack 48has openings arranged in one or more rows. The spinneret openings form adownwardly extending curtain of filaments when the polymers are extrudedthrough the spinneret. For the purposes of the present disclosure,spinnerets may be arranged to form sheath/core or side-by-sidebicomponent filaments illustrated in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, as well asnon-round fibers, such as tri-lobal fibers as shown in FIG. 6. Moreover,the fibers may be monocomponent comprising one polymeric component suchas polypropylene.

The process line 30 also comprises a quench blower 50 positionedadjacent the curtain of filaments extending from the spinneret. Air fromthe quench air blower 50 quenches the filaments extending from thespinneret. The quench air may be directed from one side of the filamentcurtain or both sides of the filament curtain.

An attenuator 52 is positioned below the spinneret and receives thequenched filaments. Fiber draw units or aspirators for use asattenuators in melt spinning polymers are generally known. Suitablefiber draw units for use in the process of the present disclosurecomprise a linear fiber attenuator of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No.3,802,817 and eductive guns of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,692,618 and 3,423,266.

Generally described, the attenuator 52 comprises an elongate verticalpassage through which the filaments are drawn by aspirating air enteringfrom the sides of the passage and flowing downwardly through thepassage. A shaped, endless, at least partially foraminous, forming belt60 is positioned below the attenuator 52 and receives the continuousfilaments from the outlet opening of the attenuator 52. The forming belt60 is a belt and travels around guide rollers 62. A vacuum 64 positionedbelow the forming belt 60 where the filaments are deposited draws thefilaments against the forming surface. Although the forming belt 60 isshown as a belt in FIG. 8, it should be understood that the forming beltmay also be in other forms such as a drum. Details of particular shapedforming belts are explained below.

In operation of the process line 30, the hoppers 36 and 38 are filledwith the respective polymer components A and B. Polymer components A andB are melted and extruded by the respective extruders 32 and 34 throughpolymer conduits 40 and 42 and the spin pack 48. Although thetemperatures of the molten polymers vary depending on the polymers used,when polyethylenes are used as primary component A and secondarycomponent B respectively, the temperatures of the polymers may rangefrom about 190° C. to about 240° C.

As the extruded filaments extend below the spinneret, a stream of airfrom the quench blower 50 at least partially quenches the filaments,and, for certain filaments, to induce crystallization of moltenfilaments. The quench air may flow in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the length of the filaments at a temperature of about0° C. to about 35° C. and a velocity from about 100 to about 400 feetper minute. The filaments may be quenched sufficiently before beingcollected on the forming belt 60 so that the filaments may be arrangedby the forced air passing through the filaments and forming surface.Quenching the filaments reduces the tackiness of the filaments so thatthe filaments do not adhere to one another too tightly before beingbonded and may be moved or arranged on the forming belt duringcollection of the filaments on the forming belt and formation of theweb.

After quenching, the filaments are drawn into the vertical passage ofthe attenuator 52 by a flow of the fiber draw unit. The attenuator ismay be positioned 30 to 60 inches below the bottom of the spinneret.

The filaments may be deposited through the outlet opening of theattenuator 52 onto the shaped, traveling forming belt 60. As thefilaments are contacting the forming surface of the forming belt 60, thevacuum 64 draws the air and filaments against the forming belt 60 toform a nonwoven web of continuous filaments which assumes a shapecorresponding to the shape of the forming surface. As discussed above,because the filaments are quenched, the filaments are not too tacky andthe vacuum may move or arrange the filaments on the forming belt 60 asthe filaments are being collected on the forming belt 60 and formed intothe fabric 10.

The process line 30 comprises one or more bonding devices such as thecylinder-shaped compaction rolls 70 and 72, which form a nip throughwhich the fabric may be compacted (e.g., calendared) and which may beheated to bond fibers as well. One or both of compaction rolls 70, 72may be heated to provide enhanced properties and benefits to thenonwoven fabric 10 by bonding portions of the nonwoven fabric. Forexample, it is believed that heating sufficient to provide thermalbonding improves the fabric's 10 tensile properties. The compactionrolls may be pair of smooth surface stainless steel rolls withindependent heating controllers. The compaction rolls may be heated byelectric elements or hot oil circulation. The gap between the compactionrolls may be hydraulically controlled to impose desired pressure on thefabric as it passes through the compaction rolls on the forming belt. Asan example, with a forming belt caliper of 1.4 mm, and a spunbondnonwoven fabric having a basis weight of 25 gsm, the nip gap between thecompaction rolls 70 and 72 may be about 1.4 mm.

An upper compaction roll 70 may be heated sufficiently to melt bondfibers on the first surface 12 of the nonwoven fabric 10, to impartstrength to the nonwoven fabric so that it may be removed from formingbelt 60 without losing integrity. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, forexample, as rolls 70 and 72 rotate in the direction indicated by thearrows, belt 60 with the spunbond fabric laid down on it enter the nipformed by rolls 70 and 72. Heated roll 70 may heat the portions ofnonwoven fabric 10 that are pressed against it by the raised resinelements of belt 60, i.e., in regions 21, to create bonded fibers 80 onat least first surface 12 of fabric 10. As can be understood by thedescription herein, the bonded regions so formed may take the pattern ofthe raised elements of forming belt 60. For example, the bonded areas soformed may be a substantially continuous network or a substantiallysemi-continuous network on first surface 12 of regions 21 that make thesame pattern as the hearts of FIG. 1 and FIG. 11. By adjustingtemperature and dwell time, the bonding may be limited primarily tofibers closest to first surface 12, or thermal bonding may be achievedto second surface 14 as shown in FIG. 11 (which also shows point bonds90, discussed more fully below), and FIGS. 34-38. Bonding may also be adiscontinuous network, for example, as point bonds 90, discussed below.

The raised elements of the forming belt 60 may be selected to establishvarious network characteristics of the forming belt and the bondedregions of the nonwoven substrate 11 or nonwoven fabric 10. The networkcorresponds to the resin making up the raised elements of the formingbelt 60 and may comprise substantially continuous, substantiallysemi-continuous, discontinuous, or combinations thereof options. Thesenetworks may be descriptive of the raised elements of the forming belt60 as it pertains to their appearance or make-up in the X-Y planes ofthe forming belt 60 or the three dimensional features comprising thenonwoven substrate 11 or nonwoven fabric 10 of the present disclosure.

“Substantially continuous” network refers to an area within which onemay connect any two points by an uninterrupted line running entirelywithin that area throughout the line's length. That is, thesubstantially continuous network has a substantial “continuity” in alldirections parallel to the first plane and is terminated only at edgesof that region. The term “substantially,” in conjunction withcontinuous, is intended to indicate that while an absolute continuitymay be achieved, minor deviations from the absolute continuity may betolerable as long as those deviations do not appreciably affect theperformance of the fibrous structure (or a molding member) as designedand intended.

“Substantially semi-continuous” network refers an area which has“continuity” in all, but at least one, directions parallel to the firstplane, and in which area one cannot connect any two points by anuninterrupted line running entirely within that area throughout theline's length. The semi-continuous framework may have continuity only inone direction parallel to the first plane. By analogy with thecontinuous region, described above, while an absolute continuity in all,but at least one, directions is preferred, minor deviations from such acontinuity may be tolerable as long as those deviations do notappreciably affect the performance of the fibrous structure.

“Discontinuous” network refer to discrete, and separated from oneanother areas that are discontinuous in all directions parallel to thefirst plane.

After compaction, the nonwoven fabric 10 may leave the forming belt 60and be calendared through a nip formed by calendar rolls 71, 73, afterwhich the fabric 10 may be wound onto a reel 75. As shown in theschematic cross section of FIG. 10, the calendar rolls 71, 73 may bestainless steel rolls having an engraved pattern roll 84 and a smoothroll 86. The engraved roll may have raised portions 88 that may providefor additional compaction and bonding to the fabric 10. Raised portions88 may be a regular pattern of relatively small spaced apart “pins” thatform a pattern of relatively small point bonds 90 in the nip of calendarrolls 71 and 73. The percent of point bonds in the nonwoven fabric 10may be from about 3% to about 30% or from about 7% to about 20%. Theengraved pattern may be a plurality of closely spaced, regular,generally cylindrically-shaped, generally flat-topped pin shapes, withpin heights being in a range of about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm or from about1 mm to about 3 mm. Pin bonding calendar rolls may form closely spaced,regular point bonds 90 in nonwoven fabric 10, as shown in FIG. 11.Further bonding may be by hot-air through bonding, for example.

“Point bonding”, as used herein, is a method of thermally bonding anonwoven fabric, web, or substrate. This method comprises passing a webthrough a nip between two rolls comprising a heated male patterned orengraved metal roll and a smooth or patterned metal roll. The malepatterned roll may have a plurality of raised, generallycylindrical-shaped pins that produce circular point bonds. The smoothroll may or may not be heated, depending on the application. In anonwoven production line, the nonwoven fabric, which could be anon-bonded fiber web, is fed into the calendar nip and the fibertemperature is raised to the point for fibers to thermally fuse witheach other at the tips of engraved points and against the smooth roll.The heating time is typically in the order of milliseconds. The fabricproperties are dependent on process settings such as roll temperatures,web line speeds, and nip pressures, all of which may be determined bythe skilled person for the desired level of point bonding. Other typesof point bonding known generally as hot calendar bonding may usedifferent geometries for the bonds (other than circular shaped), such asoval, lines, circles, for example. In an example, the point bondingproduces a pattern of point bonds being 0.5 mm diameter circles with 10%overall bonding area. Other bonding shapes may have raised pins having alongest dimension across the bonding surface of a pin of from about 0.1mm to 2.0 mm and the overall bonding area ranges from about 5% to about30%.

As shown in FIG. 11, a heated compaction roll 70 may form a bondpattern, which may be a substantially continuous network bond pattern 80(e.g., interconnected heart shaped bonds) on the first surface 12 of thenonwoven fabric 10 (not shown in FIG. 11, as it faces away from theviewer), and the engraved calendar roll 73 may form relatively smallpoint bonds 90 on second surface 14 of the fabric 10. The point bonds 90may secure loose fibers that would otherwise be prone to fuzzing orpilling during use of the fabric 10. The advantage of the resultingstructure of the nonwoven fabric 10 is most evident when used as atopsheet in an absorbent article, such as a diaper or a sanitary napkin,for example. In use, in an absorbent article, the first surface 12 ofthe nonwoven fabric 10 may be relatively flat (relative to secondsurface 14) and have a relatively large amount of bonding due to theheated compaction roll forming bonds 80 at the areas of the fabricpressed by the raised elements of the forming belt 60. This bondinggives the nonwoven fabric 10 structural integrity, but may be relativelystiff or rough to the skin of a user. Therefore, the first surface 12 ofthe nonwoven fabric 10 may be oriented in a diaper or sanitary napkin toface the interior of the article, i.e., away from the body of the weareror garment-facing. Likewise, the second surface 14 may be wearer-facingin use, and in contact with the body. The relatively small point bonds90 may be less likely to be perceived visually or tacitly by the user,and the relatively soft three-dimensional features may remain visuallyfree of fuzzing and pilling while feeling soft to the body in use.Further bonding may be used instead of, or in addition to, the abovementioned bonding.

Forming belt 60 may be made according to the methods and processesdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,173, issued to Lindsay et al. on Aug.26, 2003, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,523 issued to Trokhan et al. on May 7,1996, or U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,910 issued to Burazin et al. on Jun. 4,2002, or US Pub. No. 2013/0199741, published in the name of Stage et al.on Aug. 8, 2013, each with the improved features and patterns disclosedherein for making spunbond nonwoven webs. The Lindsay, Trokhan, Burazinand Stage disclosures describe belts that are representative ofpapermaking belts made with cured resin on a woven reinforcing member,which belts, with improvements, may be utilized in the presentdisclosure as described herein.

An example of a forming belt 60 of the type useful in the presentdisclosure and which may be made according to the disclosure of U.S.Pat. No. 5,514,523, is shown in FIG. 12. As taught therein, areinforcing member 94 (such as a woven belt of filaments 96) isthoroughly coated with a liquid photosensitive polymeric resin to apreselected thickness. A film or negative mask incorporating the desiredraised element pattern repeating elements (e.g., FIG. 14) is juxtaposedon the liquid photosensitive resin. The resin is then exposed to lightof an appropriate wave length through the film, such as UV light for aUV-curable resin. This exposure to light causes curing of the resin inthe exposed areas (i.e., white portions or non-printed portions in themask). Uncured resin (resin under the opaque portions in the mask) isremoved from the system leaving behind the cured resin forming thepattern illustrated, for example, the cured resin elements 92 shown inFIG. 12. Other patterns may also be formed.

FIG. 12 shows a portion of a forming belt 60 useful for making thenonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the forming belt 60 maycomprise cured resin elements 92 on a woven reinforcing member 94. Thereinforcing member 94 may be made of woven filaments 96 as is generallyknown in the art of papermaking belts, including resin coatedpapermaking belts. The cured resin elements may have the generalstructure depicted in FIG. 12, and are made by the use of a mask 97having the dimensions indicated in FIG. 14. As shown in schematiccross-section in FIG. 13, cured resin elements 92 flow around and arecured to “lock on” to the reinforcing member 94 and may have a width ata distal end DW of about 0.020 inch to about 0.060 inch, or from about0.025 inch to about 0.030 inch, and a total height above the reinforcingmember 94, referred to as over burden, OB, of about 0.030 inch to about0.120 inch or about 0.50 inch to about 0.80 inch, or about 0.060 inch.FIG. 14 represents a portion of a mask 97 showing the design andrepresentative dimensions for one repeat unit of the repeating heartsdesign in the nonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 1. The white portion 98is transparent to UV light, and in the process of making the belt, asdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,523, permits UV light to cure anunderlying layer of resin which is cured to form the raised elements 92on the reinforcing member 94. After the uncured resin is washed away,the forming belt 60 having a cured resin design as shown in FIG. 12 isproduced by seaming the ends of a length of the belt, the length ofwhich may be determined by the design of the apparatus, as depicted inFIG. 7.

In like manner, FIG. 15 represents a portion of a mask 97 showing thedesign for one repeat unit of the repeating design in the nonwovenfabric 10 shown in FIG. 2. The white portion 98 is transparent to UVlight, and in the process of making the belt permits UV light to cure anunderlying layer of resin which is cured to the reinforcing member 94.After the uncured resin is washed away, the forming belt 60 having acured resin design as shown in FIG. 16 is produced by seaming the endsof a length of the belt, the length of which may be determined by thedesign of the apparatus, as depicted in FIG. 7.

Further, as an example, FIG. 17 represents a portion of a mask showingthe design for one repeat unit of the repeating design in the nonwovenfabric 10 shown in FIG. 18. The white portion 98 is transparent to UVlight, and in the process of making the belt permits UV light to cure anunderlying layer of resin which is cured to the reinforcing member 94.After the uncured resin is washed away, the forming belt 60 having acured resin design as shown in FIG. 18 is produced by seaming the endsof a length of fabric 10.

Another example of a portion of a forming belt 60 of the type useful inthe present disclosure is shown in FIG. 19. The portion of the formingbelt 60 shown in FIG. 19 is a discrete belt pattern 61 that may have alength L and width W corresponding to the length L and width W of theoverall area OA of a nonwoven fabric 10. That is, the forming belt 60may have discrete belt patterns 61 (as discussed more fully withreference to FIG. 22 below), each having a discrete belt pattern overallarea DPOA that corresponds to the overall area OA of the nonwoven fabric10. FIG. 20 represents a portion of a mask showing the design for onerepeat unit of the repeating design in the nonwoven fabric 10 shown inFIG. 21. The white portion 98 is transparent to UV light, and in theprocess of making the belt permits UV light to cure an underlying layerof resin which is cured to the reinforcing member 94. After the uncuredresin is washed away, the forming belt 60 having a cured resin design asshown in FIG. 19 is produced by seaming the ends of a length of thebelt.

The portion of the forming belt shown in FIG. 19 illustrates anotherbenefit of the present disclosure. The portion of a forming belt 60shown in FIG. 19 may make a fabric 10 shown in FIG. 21. The nonwovenfabric 10 shown in FIG. 21 may have width W and length L dimensions andan overall area OA making it suitable for use as a topsheet in adisposable diaper, for example. The nonwoven fabric 10 made on a formingbelt 60 as shown in FIG. 19 differs from that shown in FIGS. 1-3 in thatthe pattern of three-dimensional features formed by the discrete resinelements 92 on forming belt 60 are not in a regular, repeating patternacross the entire overall area. Rather, the pattern of three-dimensionalraised elements in the discrete belt pattern overall area DPOA may bedescribed as an irregular pattern encompassing distinct portionsreferred to as zones. The distinction between zones may be visual, i.e.,a visually discernible difference, or in the nonwoven fabric 10 thedistinction may produce a difference in average intensive propertiessuch as basis weight or density, or combinations of visual and intensiveproperties. A visually discernible difference exists if an observer inordinary indoor lighting conditions (20/20 vision, lighting sufficientto read by, for example) may visually discern a pattern differencebetween the zones, such as the first zone 112 and the second zone 122.

The nonwoven fabric 10 may also have visually discernible zonescorresponding to the zones of the forming belt. As shown in FIG. 21, forexample, fabric 10 may have at least two, three, or four visuallydiscernible zones. A first zone 110, having first pattern ofthree-dimensional features and first average intensive properties, mayhave a first area generally centrally located within the overall areaOA. A second zone 120, having second pattern of three-dimensionalfeatures and second average intensive properties, may have a second areadistributed generally about and completely surrounding, the first zone110 within the overall area OA. A third zone 130, having third patternof three-dimensional features and third average intensive properties,may have a third area distributed generally about and completelysurrounding, the second zone 120 within the overall area OA. A fourthzone 140, having fourth three-dimensional features and fourth averageintensive properties, may have a fourth area positioned within theoverall area OA in any location, such as at a front area of a topsheet,such as the heart design shown in FIG. 21. In general, there may be nzones, with n being a positive integer. Each of the n zones may have annth pattern of three-dimensional features and an nth area and nthaverage intensive properties.

The visually discernible zones as shown in FIG. 21 may comprise visuallydiscernible three-dimensional features. These distinct three-dimensionalfeatures may be bounded by relatively higher density (with respect tothe interior of a three-dimensional feature) regions that may be in theform of a closed figure, such as the heart shape in FIGS. 1 and 3, andthe diamond shape of FIGS. 2 and 3. In general, as discussed more fullybelow, including in the context of micro zones, the three-dimensionalfeatures may be defined by a first region and a second region, whereinthe first region and second region are visually distinct and there is acommon intensive property associated with each of the first and secondregions and there is a difference in the first region's and secondregion's common intensive property value. The three-dimensional featuresmay be defined by a first region and a second region, with the firstregion being at a higher elevation (dimension measured in theZ-direction) than the second region with respect to the plane of thefirst surface. The three-dimensional features may be defined by a firstregion and a second region, with the first region being at a higherbasis than the second region.

As can be understood, rather than having a constant repeating patternthat is uniform across the entire forming belt, the forming belt 60 ofthe present disclosure allows the production of a nonwoven material thatmay have repeats of irregular discrete belt patterns 61, each discretebelt pattern 61 being like the discrete belt pattern shown in FIG. 19.The discrete belt patterns 61 each may be used to form one nonwovenfabric 10 having an overall area OA suitable for use in a disposableabsorbent article, such as diaper or sanitary napkin, for example. Thenonwoven fabrics 10 may be produced sequentially, i.e., in line, and,optionally sequentially in parallel lanes, each lane being a sequentialline of nonwoven fabrics 10. The sequential line of nonwoven fabrics 10may be produced in a machine direction along an axis parallel to themachine direction. The nonwoven material may then be slit or otherwisecut to size to produce nonwoven fabrics 10 utilized as a topsheets indisposable absorbent articles.

The pattern within each discrete belt pattern overall area DPOA may bethe same or different. That is, the sequentially spaced discrete beltpatterns may be substantially identical, or they may differ in visualappearance and/or in the intensive properties produced in nonwovensubstrates produced thereon. For example, as shown schematically in FIG.22, the pattern of three-dimensional raised elements in first formingzone 112 of discrete belt pattern 61A may be different from the patternof three-dimensional raised elements in first forming zone 112 ofdiscrete belt pattern 61B. The forming belt 60 thus offers flexibilityin producing nonwoven webs 10 suitable for use in consumer goods,including disposable absorbent articles.

Referring to FIG. 22, a forming belt having an axis A parallel to alongitudinal direction which is a machine direction is shown. Theforming belt 60 may have a plurality of discrete belt patterns 61ordered in at least one sequential relationship with respect to thelongitudinal direction. Each discrete belt pattern 61 may have adiscrete belt pattern overall area DPOA defined, in a rectangular-shapedpattern, by a length L and width W, as indicated with respect todiscrete belt pattern 61A. Each discrete belt pattern within its overallarea DPOA may have a first forming zone 112 having a first pattern ofthree-dimensional raised elements extending outwardly from the plane ofthe of the first surface and a second forming zone 122 having secondthree-dimensional raised elements extending outwardly from the plane ofthe of the first surface. The first forming zone may have a first airpermeability value and the second forming zone may have a second airpermeability value, and the first air permeability value may bedifferent from the second air permeability value. The pattern withineach sequentially ordered discrete belt pattern overall area DPOA may bethe same or different.

By way of example, and referring to the discrete belt pattern 61 offorming belt 60 shown in FIG. 19, and the nonwoven fabric 10 shown inFIG. 21, the following properties were determined. A first zone 110 ofthe nonwoven fabric 10 may have an average basis weight of about 5 gsmto about 30 gsm; the second zone 120 may have an average basis weight ofabout 50 gsm to about 70 gsm; and the third zone 130 may have an averagebasis weight of about 25 gsm to about 60 gsm. The difference in basisweight from one zone to another may be attributed to a difference in airpermeability of the forming belt 60. Referring to the nonwoven fabric 10of FIG. 20, in which the basis weights for the zones 110, 120, and 130,are 15 gsm, 53 gsm and 25 gsm, respectively, the air permeability of therespective zones 112, 122, and 132 of the forming belt 60 are 379 cfm,805 cfm, and 625 cfm, respectively. Thus, by varying air permeability inzones in forming belt 10, the intensive properties of average basisweight and average density in zones may be facilitated across theoverall area of fabric 10.

As can be understood from the description of the forming belt 60described in FIG. 22, and with reference to FIG. 23, the nonwovensubstrate 11 made on belt 60 may be described as a nonwoven substrate 11having a plurality of portions described herein as fabrics 10 ordered inat least one sequential relationship with respect to the longitudinaldirection, i.e., the machine direction when made on forming belt 60.FIG. 23 is a schematic representation of a spunbond nonwoven substrate11 showing the sequentially ordered fabrics 10, each fabric 10 having adifferent pattern within the various zones. Each fabric 10 may have anoverall area OA defined, in a rectangular-shaped pattern, by a length Land width W. Each sequentially disposed fabric 10 may have within itsoverall area OA at least a first zone 110, having a first pattern ofthree-dimensional features and first average intensive properties, and afirst area located within the overall area OA; a second zone 120, havinga second pattern of three-dimensional features and second averageintensive properties, having a second area located within the overallarea OA. Optionally, more zones, e.g., a third zone 130, having thirdpattern of three-dimensional features and third average intensiveproperty and having a third area within the overall area OA may bepresent. As shown in FIG. 23, the first pattern 110A of fabric 10A maybe different from the first pattern 110B of the fabric 10B, and may bedifferent from the first pattern 110C of the fabric 10C. The same may betrue for the second zones 120A, 120B, and 120C.

In general, the sequentially ordered nonwoven fabrics 10 of the nonwovenmaterial 11 made on forming belt 60 may vary in their respective overallareas, intensive properties, and visual appearances. A common intensiveproperty is an intensive property possessed by more than one zone (withrespect to zonal patterns, such as that shown in FIG. 21) or region (forthree-dimensional features such as the regular repeating patterns, suchas that shown in FIG. 1). Such intensive properties of the nonwovenfabrics 10 may be average values, and may include, without limitation,density, volumetric density, basis weight, thickness, and opacity. Forexample, if a density is a common intensive property of two differentialzones or regions, a value of the density in one zone or region maydiffer from a value of the density in the other zone or region. Zones(such as, for example, a first zone and a second zone) may beidentifiable areas distinguishable from one another visually and bydistinct intensive properties averaged within the zone.

Once produced, the individual nonwoven fabrics 10 may be cut to size andutilized for their intended purposes, such as for topsheets indisposable absorbent articles. One fabric 10 is cut to the appropriateoverall area and adhered into a diaper, for example, by methodsgenerally known in the art. Fabrics 10 may be cut prior to beingassembled into a diaper or during the diaper making process the nonwovensubstrate 11 may be brought together with other diaper components in webform, and cut to size after assembly.

As can be understood with reference to FIG. 24, the nonwoven substrate11 made on belt 60 may be described as a nonwoven fabric 11 having aplurality of portions described herein as fabrics 10 ordered in at leastone sequential relationship with respect to the longitudinal direction,i.e., the machine direction when made on forming belt 60, in at leastone side-by-side relationship, i.e., in the cross machine direction whenmade on forming belt 60. FIG. 24 is a schematic representation of aspunbond nonwoven substrate 11 showing the sequentially ordered fabrics10 in adjacent machine direction lanes 13, adjacent lanes having theside-by each fabrics 10, called out in FIG. 24 as 10D, 10E, and 10F.Each fabric 10 may have an overall area OA defined, in arectangular-shaped pattern, by a length L and width W. Each sequentiallydisposed fabric 10 may have within its overall area OA at least a firstzone 110, having a first pattern of three-dimensional features and firstaverage intensive properties, and a first area located within theoverall area OA; a second zone 120, having a second pattern ofthree-dimensional features and second average intensive properties,having a second area located within the overall area OA. Optionally,more zones, e.g., a third zone 130, having third pattern ofthree-dimensional features and third average intensive property andhaving a third area within the overall area OA may be present. Eachfabric 10 in side-by-side lanes may be substantially identical, or theycan be different with respect to size, visual appearance, and/orintensive properties. Once produced, the nonwoven substrate 11 may bereeled for slitting into lanes for processing into consumer products, orslit and then reeled.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to spunbond commerciallines where multiple beams are utilized for improved laydown opacity anduniformity of the fabric. In some cases, there the apparatus may includetriple spunbond beams (known in the art as “SSS”) and may be combinedwith meltblown (M), for example, in an apparatus known as an “SSMMS”spunbond line.

By calendaring the nonwoven fabric 10 to have point bonds 90, fuzzingmay be reduced. Fuzzing refers to the tendency of fibers to become looseand removed from the fabric 10. Loosening and removal may be because offrictional engagement with manufacturing equipment during production ofdisposable absorbent articles, or another surface, such as the skin of aperson interacting with the fabric 10. In some uses, such as fortopsheets in disposable absorbent articles, fuzzing is a negativeconsumer phenomena. But bonding fibers in place may also be a consumernegative as it may produce roughness on the surface of an otherwise softnonwoven substrate. We have found expectedly the nonwoven substrates andnonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure may endure an increase inbonding (and a consequent decrease in fuzzing) with minimal loss insoftness. Bonding may be accomplished by relatively closely spaced pointbonds 90, with the spacing being determined by the desired level offuzzing reduction. Bonding may also be achieved by known methods forchemically or thermally bonding nonwoven fibers, such as thermalbonding, ultrasonic bonding, pressure bonding, latex adhesive bonding,and combinations of such methods.

Further characterization of the present disclosure may be realized byfocusing on the three-dimensional features within a visually discerniblezone. Each zone, such as zones 110, 120, and 130, discussed above, maybe described further with respect to microzones. A microzone is aportion of the nonwoven fabric 10 within a zone, that has at least twovisually discernible regions and there is a common intensive propertydifference between these two regions. A microzone may comprise a portionof the nonwoven fabric 10 which crosses two or more zone boundaries thathas at least two visually discernible regions and there is a commonintensive property difference between these two regions

The benefit of considering microzones in the present disclosure is toillustrate that in addition to differences in average intensiveproperties with a zone, such as zones the 110, 120, and 130, asdiscussed above, the present disclosure also provides for fabrics havingdifferences in actual and/or average intensive properties betweenregions defined by the three-dimensional features within a zone, withthe three-dimensional features precisely placed according to the designof the forming belt used to produce the fabrics. The difference betweenintensive properties between regions of the three-dimensional featuresprovides for additional visual as well as functional benefits. The sharpvisual contrast between regions may provide for extremely fine visuallydistinctive designs within a zone and between zones. Likewise, theprecise placement of regions afforded by the precisely manufacturedforming belt may provide for excellent and tailored softness, strength,and fluid handling properties of the zones. Thus, the present disclosureprovides for the unexpected combination of differences in averageintensive properties between zones and simultaneously differences inintensive properties of the regions making up a microzone.

Regions defined by three-dimensional features may be understood withreference to FIG. 25 and FIG. 26. FIG. 25 shows a light microscope imageof a portion of a fabric 10 according to the present disclosure, andFIG. 26 is a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a cross-section ofthe portion of the fabric shown in FIG. 25. Thus, FIGS. 25 and 26 show aportion of a nonwoven fabric 10 magnified for more precise descriptionof the otherwise visually discernible features of the fabric. Theportion of the nonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 25 is approximately 36mm in the CD and exhibits portions of at least three visually distinctzones as discussed below.

In FIGS. 25 and 26 which show a portion of one pattern of a nonwovenfabric 10, a first zone 110 (on the left side of FIG. 25) ischaracterized by generally MD-oriented rows of variable width firstregions 300 separated by MD-oriented rows of variable width secondregions 310. The first region is also the three-dimensional feature 20that defines the first and second regions 300, 310. A three-dimensionalfeature is a portion of the nonwoven fabric 10 that was formed betweenor around a raised element of the forming belt, which in thisdescription is the first region 300, such that the resulting structurehas a relatively greater dimension in the Z-direction. The adjacentsecond region 310 generally has a common intensive property with thefirst region 300 and may have a relatively lower thickness value, i.e.,lesser dimension in the Z-direction. The relative dimensions in the Zdirection with respect to a plane of the first surface 16 as describedabove, may be seen in FIG. 26. Absolute dimensions are not critical; butthe dimensional differences may be visually discernible on the nonwovenfabric 10 without magnification.

The present disclosure permits beneficial characteristics best expressedwith respect to the regions defined by three-dimensional features inmicrozones. For example, as shown in FIG. 25, in zone 110 for each threedimensional features 20 there is a visible distinction between a firstregion 300 and a second region 310. As stated above, the visibledistinction may exist in the nonwoven fabric 10 without magnification;the magnified views used herein are for purposes of clear disclosure.Any area that extends across the boundary between enough of first region300 and second region 310 such that a difference in their respectiveintensive properties may be ascertained within the area may be amicrozone. Additionally, light microscopy or microCT imagery of astructure may also be used to establish the location of regions and thearea of a microzone.

The portion of nonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 25 further illustratesanother beneficial characteristic of the fabric 10, in that thedifferences in intensive properties between adjacent regions may bedifferences across zones. Thus, a microzone that spans an areaencompassing second region 310 of zone 120 and first region 300 of zone130 may be identified. Referring to the nonwoven fabric 10 shown inFIGS. 25 and 26, the difference in intensive properties exhibited byregions in microzones that a zone boundary may be significantlydifferent in magnitude than the differences between intensive propertiesexhibited by regions within a zone.

Regardless of which zone, or which zonal boundary a particular microzoneencompasses, the three-dimensional features may be characterized by thedifferences between intensive properties of the regions defined by them.In general, the nonwoven of the present disclosure may be a spunbondnonwoven fabric having a first surface defining a plane of the firstsurface. The fabric may have a plurality of three-dimensional features,each three dimensional feature defining a first region and a secondregion, the regions having a common intensive property that has adifferent value between them. The first region may be distinguished asbeing at a higher elevation than the second region with respect to theplane of the first surface, hence exhibiting a difference in eachregion's common intensive property of thickness. The two regions mayalso be distinguished as having different densities, basis weights, andvolumetric densities. That is, the two regions may be distinguishedwithin a micro zone of the spunbond nonwoven fabric as being differentwith respect to common intensive properties, including properties suchas thickness, density, basis weight, and volumetric density. One or bothregions of a microzone may be fluid permeable. The higher density regionof a microzone may be fluid permeable.

Within zone 110 of the portion of fabric shown in FIG. 25, for example,there may be three-dimensional features 20 defining at least tworegions, a first region 300 and a second region 310. The difference inthickness, basis weight, and volumetric density between the first andsecond regions for zone 110 shown in FIG. 25 may be 274 microns, 1 gsm,and 0.437 g/cc, respectively, for example.

Likewise, within zone 130 of the portion of fabric shown in FIG. 25, forexample, there may be three-dimensional features 20 defining at leasttwo regions, a first region 300 and a second region 310. The differencein thickness, basis weight, and volumetric density between the first andsecond regions for zone 130 shown in FIG. 25 may be 2083 microns, 116gsm, and 0.462 g/cc, respectively, for example.

Additionally, within zone 120 of the portion of fabric shown in FIG. 25,for example, there may be three-dimensional features 20 defining atleast two regions, a first region 300 and a second region 310. Thedifference in thickness, basis weight, volumetric density between thefirst and second regions for the portion of fabric shown in FIG. 25 maybe 204 microns, 20 gsm, 0.53 g/cc, respectively, for example. The zone120 forms what appears in an unmagnified view of nonwoven fabric 10 tobe a stitched boundary between zones 110 and 130.

Further, a zone that encompasses the boundary between zones 120 and 130of the portion of fabric shown in FIG. 25, for example, there are atleast two regions, a first region 300 in zone 130 and a second region310 in zone 120. The difference in thickness, basis weight, andvolumetric density between the first and second regions for the portionof fabric shown in FIG. 38 may be 2027 microns, 58 gsm, and 0.525 g/cc,respectively, for example.

Microzones are discussed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 27-29and the data depicted in FIG. 31. FIGS. 27-29 are Micro-CT scans of aportion of a nonwoven fabric 10 similar in pattern to that of thenonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 25. The Micro-CT scan permitsdescription of the same features as shown in FIG. 25 in a slightlydifferent manner and in a way that permits very precise measurement ofintensive properties.

As shown in FIG. 27, zones 110, 120, and 130 are clearly visible, withtheir respective three-dimensional features 20. As depicted in FIGS. 27and 28, the three-dimensional features are the dark-colored portions,with the dark color also representing the first region 300 of athree-dimensional feature 20, and the adjacent light-colored portionsbeing the second region 310 for the three-dimensional feature 20.

The Micro-CT scan permits the image to be “cut” and cross-sectioned, asshown by the cut plane 450 in FIG. 28. A cut plane may be placedanywhere on the image; for the purposes of the present disclosure, thecut plane 450 cuts a cross section substantially parallel to the Z axisso as to produce the cross-sectional image in FIG. 29.

The Micro-CT technology permits intensive properties to be precisely anddirectly measured. Thickness measurements may be made directly fromimaged cross sections based on the scale magnification, such as thecross section shown in FIG. 29. Further, the color differential betweenfirst regions and second regions is representative and proportional todifferences in basis weight, volumetric density, and other intensiveproperties, which may likewise be directly measured. Micro-CTmethodology is explained below in the Test Methods section.

FIG. 30 is a Micro-CT scan image of the portion of nonwoven fabric 10shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. Utilizing, for specific first and secondregions shown as numbered portions of the nonwoven fabric 10 may beanalyzed. In FIG. 30, specific regions were manually selected andanalyzed to measure thickness, basis weight, and volumetric density, andthe data is produced in FIG. 31.

FIG. 31 shows data for groupings of first and second region measurementsmade within the three zones depicted in FIG. 30. The x-axis is theregions, with the numbers corresponding to the numbered regions on FIG.30. First region measurements are labeled as Fn (e.g., F1) and secondregions measurements are labeled as Sn (e.g., S1). Thus, regions 1-5 arefirst regions F1, each being in zone 110. Regions 6-10 are secondregions S1, also being in zone 110. Likewise, first regions F2 areregions 16-20 in zone 120, and regions 11-15 and 21-25 are secondregions S2 in zone 120. Finally, regions 31-35 are first regions F3 inzone 130 and regions 26-30 are second regions S2 in zone 130. Thenumbered regions are consistently depicted across all three graphs ofFIG. 31, but for simplicity, the zones 110, 120, and 130 are depictedonly on the Thickness Map.

The graphs shown in FIG. 31 represent graphically the magnitude ofdifference in intensive properties between first regions and secondregions within any one of the zones, and may be used to see graphicallythe difference in intensive properties for pairs of regions making up amicrozone. For example, one can see that in zone 110 that basis weightbetween the two regions may be substantially the same, but the thickness(caliper) may vary from about 400 microns in the first regions to about40 microns in the second regions, or about a 10× differential. Thevolumetric density in zone 110 may vary from about 0.1 g/cc to about 0.6g/cc. Similar quantifiable distinctions may be understood for each ofthe zones shown.

Thus, with reference to FIG. 30 and FIG. 31 together, furthercharacterization of the beneficial structure of a fabric 10 of thepresent disclosure may be understood. The nonwoven fabric 10 may bedescribed as having at least two visually distinct zones, e.g., zones110 and 120, with each of the zones having a pattern ofthree-dimensional features, each of the three-dimensional featuresdefining a microzone comprising first and second regions, e.g., regions300, 310, and wherein the difference in values for at least one of themicrozones in the first zone is quantifiably different from thedifference in values for at least one of the microzones in the secondzone. For example, in FIG. 30, two representative microzones 400 in zone130 are designated as the pair of regions marked as areas 31 and 27 and33 and 26. That is, first region 31 and second region 27 form amicrozone, and first region 33 and second region 26 form a microzone.Likewise, two representative microzones 400 in zone 120 are designatedas the pair of regions marked as areas 19 and 24 and 17 and 22. FromFIG. 31, Tables 4-7 may be populated as shown:

TABLE 1 Illustrative examples of differences in thickness in microzonesDifference in Thickness Thickness (microns) (microns) Zone 130 Microzone1 First 1802 1709 Region 31 Second 93 Region 27 Microzone 2 First 25482484 Region 33 Second 64 Region 26 Zone 120 Microzone 1 First 242 172Region 19 Second 70 Region 24 Microzone 2 First 235 183 Region 17 Second52 Region 23

TABLE 2 Illustrative examples of differences in basis weight inmicrozones Basis weights Difference in Basis (gsm) weights (gsm) ZoneMicrozone 1 First Region 124 107 130 31 Second 17 Region 27 Microzone 2First Region 106 72 33 Second 34 Region 26 Zone Microzone 1 First Region32 5 120 19 Second 27 Region 24 Microzone 2 First Region 42 30 17 Second12 Region 23

TABLE 3 Illustrative examples of differences in volumetric density inmicrozones Difference in Volumetric Volumetric Density (g/cc) Density(g/cc) Zone Microzone 1 First Region 31 0.069 0.116 130 Second Region 270.185 Microzone 2 First Region 33 0.041 0.49 Second Region 26 0.531 ZoneMicrozone 1 First Region 19 0.133 0.251 120 Second Region 24 0.384Microzone 2 First Region 17 0.185 0.044 Second Region 23 0.229

TABLE 4 Illustrative examples of differences in intensive propertieswithin different zones: Basis Basis Volumetric Volumetric ThicknessThickness Weights Weights Density Density (Microns) Differences (gsm)Differences (g/cc) Differences Zone 130 2147 2118 149 135 0.069 0.423First Region 32 Zone 110 29 14 0.492 Second Region 8

The four representative microzones from two zones are shown in Tables1-4 for illustration. But as can be understood, each pair of first andsecond regions in FIG. 30 may likewise be quantified to further populateadditional rows in Table 1, but for purposes of conciseness are not. Ingeneral, for any fabric having two or more zones, each zone having apattern of three-dimensional features defining microzones, the intensiveproperties may be measured and tabulated as illustrated herein withreference to FIGS. 30 and 31 to understand both the difference in valuesfor intensive properties within a zone, and differences in values ofintensive properties between one region in first zone to another regionin a second zone.

A microzone spanning two zones, such as zones 110 and zone 130, may havean even greater difference in intensive properties relative to amicrozone within a single zone. For example, viewing the data for amicrozone spanning a first region of zone 130, for example at firstregion 32, and a second region of zone 110, for example at second region8, the microzone exhibits dramatic differences in all of thickness,basis weight and volumetric density. The thickness of first region 32 ofzone 130 is about 2100 microns, while the thickness of second region 8of zone 110 is about 29 microns, or about a 72× differential or greaterthan about 25 microns. Likewise, the basis weight of first region 32 ofzone 130 may be as high as 150 gsm, while the basis weight of secondregion 8 of zone 110 may be about 14 gsm, or about a 10× differential orgreater than 5 gsm. Further, the volumetric density of first region 32of zone 130 may be about 0.069 g/cc, while the volumetric density ofsecond region 8 of zone 110 may be 0.492 g/cc, or about a 7×differential or greater than about 0.042 g/cc.

For each of the measured intensive property parameters of the variousregions of a microzone, such a measurement is done using the micro CTmethod described herein. The resolution of the method supportsestablishing the intensive properties of microzone regions sodifferences and ratios comparisons of regions as described herein may bedimensioned.

Further characterization of a fabric 10 may be made with reference toFIGS. 32-36, which are SEMs showing in greater detail certain aspects ofthe nonwoven fabric 10 and regions therein. FIGS. 32-36 are photographsof magnified portions of zone 110 of the fabric shown in FIG. 25. Thenonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 25 was made according to the processdescribed above with reference to FIG. 7 in which the fabric wasprocessed through a nip formed by compaction rolls 70 and 72, with roll72 which contacts first side 12 being heated to cause partial bonding offibers in the second regions 301. FIGS. 32 (facing the belt) and 46(facing the heated compaction roll) are SEMs of a portion of the secondsurface 14 and first surface 12, respectively, magnified to 20X. FIGS.34 (facing the belt) and 48 (facing the heated compaction roll) arephotographs of a portion of the second surface 14 and first surface 12,respectively, magnified to 90X, and show in detail the beneficialstructural characteristic of the partial bonding of fibers formed bycompaction rolls 70 and 72.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 34 and 35, as well as the cross sectionalview of FIG. 36, the heated compaction rolls may cause thermal bondingof fibers to different degrees with a beneficial effect on the overallfabric 10. As shown, the fibers in contact with a heated roll, e.g.,roll 70 in contact with first surface 12 of fabric 10, may be meltbonded such that the first surface 12 experiences relatively greaterfiber-to-fiber bonding than does the second surface 14. The bondedfibers 80 of the first surface may be substantially completely meltbonded to form, in effect, a film skin of bonded fibers, while thefibers in the second region 310 on the second side 14 may experiencelittle to no bonding. This feature permits a nonwoven fabric 10 for usein a disposable absorbent article, e.g., as a topsheet, to maintainphysical integrity during manufacture and use, as well as relativesoftness on one side, which may be the wearer-facing, skin-contactingside.

Even in the microzones with the greatest thickness differential, this“bond skinning” effect serves the purpose of maintaining web integrity,while not significantly impacting softness, or other beneficialproperties such as fluid handling properties. As can be understood withreference to FIGS. 37-40, the differential in the extent of thermalbonding of fibers may be such that fibers on the first surface 12 at asecond region 310 may be complete, or substantially complete, while theextent of thermal bonding of fibers on the second surface 14 at a firstregion 300 may be minimal, to no thermal bonding.

FIG. 37 shows again the portion of nonwoven fabric 10 shown in FIG. 25.FIGS. 38-40 show magnified images of one microzone, indicated in FIG. 37as a first region 300 and second region 310, which visually appears tobe a hole or an aperture. FIGS. 38 and 39 show the microzone as itappears on the second surface 14 magnified to 40X and 200X,respectively. FIG. 40 shows the second region 310 as it appears on thefirst side 12 under 200× magnification. Fibers in the second region 310are completely, or substantially completely bonded, while fibers in thefirst region 300 are completely, or substantially completely unbonded.The benefit of the illustrated structure is that a microzone mayfunction as a fluid pervious aperture, while the bonded regions of thesecond region 310 simultaneously functioning to maintain physicalintegrity of the fabric 10.

Microzones, therefore, play a significant role in the overall physicalstructure and functioning of a fabric 10 of the present disclosure.Producing relatively closely spaced, precisely designedthree-dimensional features, enabled by the forming belt of the presentdisclosure, a fabric 10 may exhibit visually distinct zones, microzones,and three-dimensional features that provide for functional superiorityin the areas of, at least, softness and fluid handling, as well asvisually attractive aesthetic designs. The potential difference inphysical properties of the first and second surfaces permits thenonwoven fabric 10 to be designed for both strength and softness, bothform and function.

FIG. 41 is a Micro-CT scan image of the portion of nonwoven fabric 10similar to that shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, but having been subjected tothe additional processing step of forming point bonds 90 in the nip ofcalendar rollers 71 and 73. As above, with respect to the discussion ofFIGS. 30 and 31, for specific point bond microzones 400 first and secondregions shown as numbered portions of the nonwoven fabric 10 may beanalyzed, and include regions of point bonds, specifically in thenumbered areas 31-35. For example, adjacent regions 32 and 26 form amicrozone 400 in third zone 130. In FIG. 41, the specific regions werevisually discerned to identify regions including the added point bondregions and analyzed to measure thickness, basis weight, and volumetricdensity, and the data is produced in FIG. 42, where the thickness, basisweight and volumetric density of all the regions, including the pointbond regions are quantified and compared.

FIG. 42 shows data for groupings of first and second region measurementsmade within the three zones depicted in FIG. 41. The x-axis is theregions, with the numbers corresponding to the numbered regions on FIG.30. First region measurements are labeled as Fn (e.g., F1) and secondregions measurements are labeled as Sn (e.g., S1). Thus, regions 1-5 arefirst regions F1, each being in zone 110. Regions 6-10 are secondregions S1, also being in zone 110. Likewise, first regions F2 areregions 16-20 in zone 120, and regions 11-15 and 21-25 are secondregions S2 in zone 120. Finally, regions 31-35 are second regions butare point bonds 90 denoted on FIG. 55 as B1 to distinguish them in thisdisclosure as having been formed by a point bonding process. Firstregions F3 in zone 130 are regions 26-30 and 36-40, while regions 41-44are second regions S2 in zone 130. The numbered regions are consistentlydepicted across all three graphs of FIG. 42, but for simplicity, thezones 110, 120, and 130 are depicted only on the Thickness Map.

The graphs shown in FIG. 42 represent graphically the magnitude ofdifference in intensive properties between first regions and secondregions within any one of the zones of a fabric subjected to acalendaring point bonding step, and may be used to see graphically thedifference in intensive properties for pairs of regions making up amicrozone. For example, one can see that in zone 110 that basis weightbetween the two regions may vary within a range narrower than doesthickness or volumetric density. For example, the thickness (caliper)may vary from about 325 microns in the first regions to about 29 micronsin the second regions of zone 110, or about a 10× differential. Thevolumetric density in zone 110 may vary from about 0.08 g/cc to about0.39 g/cc. Similar quantifiable distinctions may be understood for eachof the zones shown.

In general, regions of a microzone may have broadly varying values forbasis weight, thickness, and volumetric density.

Thus, with reference to FIG. 41 and FIG. 42 together, furthercharacterization of the beneficial structure of a fabric 10 of thepresent disclosure may be understood specifically with respect to thethermal calendar point bonds 90. Focusing for purposes of description onzone 130, three-dimensional features defining a microzone comprisingfirst and second regions which are point bonded regions may beidentified and the values of intensive properties quantified. Forexample, in FIG. 41, a representative point bond microzone 400 in zone130 may be the pair of regions marked as areas 26 and 32 or 30 and 35.That is, first region 26 and second region 32 form a point bondmicrozone 400, and first region 30 and second region 35 form a pointbond microzone 400.

The differences in certain intensive properties for point bondmicrozones can be seen in FIG. 42. For example, taking the two pointbond microzones 400 described above, e.g., the two point bond microzones400 of regions 26 and 32 and 30 and 35, respectively, one can see thereis a slight difference in basis weight between the first regions andsecond regions ranging from about 55 to about 60 gsm, but the sameregions exhibit a significant difference in thickness of from about 430microns to about 460 microns to about 125 microns, and a significantdifference in volumetric density of from about 0.13-0.14 g/cc to about0.41-0.48 g/cc. Other differences in intensive properties may beobserved by reference to FIG. 42.

Bond points 90 may play a significant role in the overall physicalstructure and functioning of a fabric 10 of the present disclosure. Byadding bond points 90 to the fabric 10 comprising relatively closelyspaced, precisely designed three-dimensional features, enabled by theforming belt of the present disclosure, a fabric 10 may be furtherimproved to exhibit an unexpected combination of visually distinctzones, microzones, and three-dimensional features that provide forfunctional superiority in the high performance combination of softness,strength, low fuzz, and fluid handling, as well as visually attractiveaesthetic designs. The bond point feature provides for a nonwoven fabric10 to be designed for the highest combined performance of strength,softness, fluid handling, and visual aesthetics, especially consideringboth form and function.

Packages

The absorbent articles of the present disclosure may be placed intopackages. The packages may comprise polymeric films and/or othermaterials. Graphics and/or indicia relating to properties of theabsorbent articles may be formed on, printed on, positioned on, and/orplaced on outer portions of the packages. Each package may comprise aplurality of absorbent articles. The absorbent articles may be packedunder compression so as to reduce the size of the packages, while stillproviding an adequate amount of absorbent articles per package. Bypackaging the absorbent articles under compression, caregivers mayeasily handle and store the packages, while also providing distributionsavings to manufacturers owing to the size of the packages.

Accordingly, packages of the absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure may have an In-Bag Stack Height of less than about 110 mm,less than about 105 mm, less than about 100 mm, less than about 95 mm,less than about 90 mm, less than about 85 mm, less than about 80 mm,less than about 78 mm, less than about 76 mm, less than about 74 mm,less than about 72 mm, or less than about 70 mm, specifically recitingall 0.1 mm increments within the specified ranges and all ranges formedtherein or thereby, according to the In-Bag Stack Height Test describedherein. Alternatively, packages of the absorbent articles of the presentdisclosure may have an In-Bag Stack Height of from about 70 mm to about110 mm, from about 70 mm to about 105 mm, from about 70 mm to about 100mm, from about 70 mm to about 95 mm, from about 70 mm to about 90 mm,from about 70 mm to about 85 mm, from about 72 mm to about 80 mm, orfrom about 74 mm to about 78 mm, specifically reciting all 0.1 mmincrements within the specified ranges and all ranges formed therein orthereby, according to the In-Back Stack Height Test described herein.

FIG. 43 illustrates an example package 1000 comprising a plurality ofabsorbent articles 1004. The package 1000 defines an interior space 1002in which the plurality of absorbent articles 1004 are situated. Theplurality of absorbent articles 1004 are arranged in one or more stacks1006.

Absorbent Articles

The nonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure may form portions ofabsorbent articles. Absorbent articles may comprise taped diapers,pants, adult incontinence diapers or pads, sanitary napkins, pantyliners, and/or other suitable absorbent articles. The nonwoven fabricsmay also be useful in other consumer products. In an absorbent articlecontext, the nonwoven fabrics may form an outer cover nonwoven material,a topsheet, an acquisition layer, a distribution layer, a portion of acore bag, an ear nonwoven material, a secondary topsheet, a waist beltlaminate, and/or may form other suitable nonwoven absorbent articlecomponents. The nonwoven fabrics may also form portions of thesecomponents.

FIGS. 44 and 45 illustrate an example absorbent article in the form of apant, although taped diapers are also within the scope of the presentdisclosure. The pant may comprise the nonwoven fabrics of the presentdisclosure, as for example, a topsheet and/or an outer cover nonwovenmaterial, or portions of a topsheet and/or outer cover nonwovenmaterial. FIG. 44 is a front perspective view of an absorbent articlecomprising one or more nonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure. FIG.45 is a back perspective view of the absorbent article of FIG. 44.

Referring again to FIGS. 44 and 45, an absorbent article 710 in the formof a belted pant is illustrated. The absorbent article 710 comprises afront region 712, a crotch region 714, and a back region 716. Theabsorbent article may comprise a central chassis 726 extending at leastpartially between the front region 712 and the back region 716. Theabsorbent article 710 may define leg openings 760 and comprise a frontwaist belt 754 and a back waist belt 756. The front and back belts 754,756 may comprise a first extensible material and a second extensiblematerial. An elastic member, such as an elastic film or a plurality ofelastic strands, may be positioned intermediate the first extensiblematerial and the second extensible material. The first waist belt 754and the second waist belt 756 may be attached on their lateral edges toeach other to form side seams 758. The side seams may comprise buttseams or overlaps seams.

The central chassis 752 may comprise a topsheet 760, a backsheet film761, an absorbent core positioned at least partially intermediate thetopsheet and the backsheet film. The topsheet 760 may form a portion ofa wearer-facing surface of the absorbent article 710 and may compriseone or more of the nonwoven fabrics disclosed herein. The centralchassis 752 may comprise an outer cover nonwoven material 762 forming aportion of a garment-facing surface of the absorbent article and beingin a face-to-face relationship with the backsheet film. The outer covernonwoven material 762 may comprise one or more of the nonwoven fabricsdisclosed herein. The central chassis may comprise one or moreacquisition layers and/or one or more distribution layers at leastpartially intermediate the topsheet and the absorbent core. The nonwovenfabrics may comprise crimped fibers.

Emtec

The present disclosure provides a solution to the problem discussed inthe background section by providing absorbent articles comprisingnonwoven fabrics with improved softness while still having high texture.The present disclosure further solves the contradiction between highsoftness and high texture while simultaneously providing someimprovements in fluid handling, including rapid strikethrough of bodilyexudates and enhanced skin and topsheet dryness. Typically, the nonwovenfabrics of the present disclosure may form at least a portion of awearer-facing surface (e.g., topsheet) and at least a portion of agarment-facing surface (e.g., outer cover nonwoven material). Softness,texture (i.e., smoothness), and/or stiffness may be measured by an EmtecTissue Softness Analyzer, according to the Emtec Test herein. Tactilesoftness is measured as TS7. Texture/Smoothness is measured as TS750.Stiffness is measured as D.

All of Examples 1-10 below are side-by-side bicomponent spunbondnonwoven fabrics produced by spinning a 30:70 ratio of Polypropylene(PP3155 obtained from Exxon Mobil Corporation) and 25/75 blend ofpolypropylenes (PP3155 and PP3854 obtained from Exxon Mobil Corporation)in a round fiber configuration. Approximately, 1% Titanium dioxide and1% Erucamide were added to the polymers to improve whiteness andsoftness. In the topsheet of Example 2, a blue pigment melt additive0.25% by weight of the nonwoven fabric was added to enhance the visualperception of three-dimensionality. The nonwoven fabrics were all spunon a forming belt having a three-dimensional pattern as generallydescribed with respect to FIG. 16, although the patterns are different.The belts were moving at a linear speed of about 28 meters per minute toform the 25 gsm nonwoven fabrics. The belt was run at slower linearspeeds for the higher basis weight nonwoven outer cover materials inExamples 7-10. Fibers of the nonwoven fabrics of Examples 1-10 werecompacted by a heated compaction rolls 70, 72, and further bonded with8% dot pattern calendar roll at about 140 C temperature.

TABLE 5 Emtec properties of comparative example topsheets and presentdisclosure topsheet examples Comparative Comparative Example 3: Example2: Example 1: Comparative P&G Pattern Goon Example 2: Pampers of FIG.Premium, Merries, Premium Example 1: 47, 25 Example 3: Example 4:Purchased Purchased Care, Pattern gsm, Pattern Pattern November NovemberProduced of FIG. 0.25% of FIG. of FIG. 2018 in 2018 in April 2017 46, 25blue melt 47, 25 48, 25 Product China China in Japan gsm additive gsm,gsm Stiffness (D) 4.9 4.4 4.3 3.95 3.16 3.9 3.9 mm/N Softness 6.4 4.97.0 3.8 2.85 3.7 3.8 (TS7)-Micro dB V² rms Smoothness 2.9 15.1 4.1 8.299.6 7.3 7 (TS750)- Macro dB V² rms * All values of Table 5 are measuredaccording to the Emtec Test herein.

A portion of, or all of, wearer-facing surfaces of the topsheets of thepresent disclosure may have a TS7 value in the range of about 1 dB V²rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms, about 2 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms, orabout 2 dB V² rms to about 4.0 dB V² rms. The portion of, or all of, thewearer-facing surfaces of the topsheets of the present disclosure mayalso have a TS750 value in the range of about 4 dB V² rms to about 30 dBV² rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about 30 dB V² rms, about 6 dB V² rms toabout 20 dB V² rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about 15 dB V² rms, about 6 dBV² rms to about 12 dB V² rms, or about 6.5 dB V² rms to about 10 dB V²rms. The portion of, or all of, the wearer-facing surfaces of thetopsheets of the present disclosure may also have a D value in the rangeof about 1 mm/N to about 10 mm/N, about 3 mm/N to about 8 mm/N, about 2mm/N to about 6 mm/N, about 2 mm/N to about 4 mm/N, or about 3 mm/N toabout 4 mm/N. All values are measured according to the Emtec Testherein. The TS7 value is tactile softness, so low numbers are desired(the lower the number, the more soft the material is). The TS750 valueis texture so a high number is desired (the higher the number, the moretexture the material has). Having a low TS7 value and a high texturevalue is contradictory in that typically the more texture a nonwovenfabric has, the less soft it is. The Applicants, without wishing to bebound by theory, have discovered the unexpected results of highlytextured nonwoven fabrics that still are very soft by providing a selectrange of region 1 and region 2 areas in the nonwovens fabrics, asdiscussed below.

TABLE 6 Emtec properties of comparative example outer cover nonwovenmaterials and present disclosure outer cover examples ComparativeComparative Example 3: Example 1: Comparative P&G Goon Example 2:Pampers Premium, Merries, Premium Example 5: Example 6: Example 7:Example 8: Example 9: Example 10: Purchased Purchased Care, PatternPattern Pattern Pattern Pattern Pattern November November Produced ofFIG. of FIG. of FIG. of FIG. of FIG. of FIG. 2018 in 2018 in April 2017,49, 25 50, 25 49, 35 50, 35 49, 46 50, 46 Product China China in Japangsm gsm, gsm, gsm gsm gsm Stiffness (D) 4.1 2.9 4.1 4.66 4.67 3.8 3.973.53 3.55 mm/N Softness 4.7 3.1 3.1 2.69 2.79 2.83 2.74 3.04 2.88(TS7)-Micro dB V² rms Smoothness 3.7 3.1 2.7 6.1 5.87 12.9 12.3 20.517.5 (TS750)- Macro dB V² rms * All values of Table 6 are measuredaccording to the Emtec Test herein.

A portion of the garment-facing surface of the outer cover nonwovenmaterials of the present disclosure may have a TS7 value in the range ofabout 1 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms, about 2 dB V² rms to about 4.5dB V² rms, or about 2 dB V² rms to about 4.0 dB V² rms. The portion ofthe garment-facing surfaces of the outer cover nonwoven materials of thepresent disclosure may also have a TS750 value in the range of about 4dB V² rms to about 30 dB V² rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about 30 dB V²rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about 20 dB V² rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about15 dB V² rms, about 6 dB V² rms to about 12 dB V² rms, or about 6.5 dBV² rms to about 10 dB V² rms. The portion of the garment-facing surfacesof the outer cover nonwoven materials of the present disclosure may alsohave a D value in the range of about 1 mm/N to about 10 mm/N, about 3mm/N to about 8 mm/N, about 2 mm/N to about 6 mm/N, about 2 mm/N toabout 4 mm/N, or about 3 mm/N to about 4 mm/N. All values are measuredaccording to the Emtec Test herein. Having a low TS7 value and a hightexture value is contradictory in that typically the more texture anonwoven fabric has, the less soft it is. The Applicants, withoutwishing to be bound by theory, have discovered the unexpected results ofhighly textured nonwoven fabrics that still are very soft by providing aselect range of region 1 and region 2 areas in the nonwovens fabrics, asdiscussed below.

It may be desirable to have the certain TS7 and TS750 propertiesdiscussed above in both the outer cover nonwoven material and thetopsheet. This provides soft texture on both sides (i.e., wearer-facingand garment-facing) of the absorbent article.

An absorbent article may comprise a nonwoven topsheet, a backsheet, anabsorbent core positioned at least partially intermediate the topsheetand the backsheet, and a nonwoven outer cover joined to the backsheet. Afirst portion of a wearer-facing side of the nonwoven topsheet and asecond portion of a garment-facing side of the nonwoven outer cover mayeach have a TS7 value in the range of about 1 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dBV² rms, according to the Emtec Test. The second portion of thegarment-facing side of the nonwoven outer cover may have a TS750 valuethat is about 1.2 to about 4 times, about 1.3 to about 3 times, or about1.5 to about 2 times greater than a TS750 value of the first portion ofthe wearer-facing side of the nonwoven topsheet.

% Region 1 and Region 2 Areas

To achieve the desired results of the present disclosure of improvedsoftness together with increased texture in the nonwoven fabrics, suchas the outer cover nonwoven materials and the topsheets, it may bedesirable to have a total region one area (e.g., low basis weight areas)in a portion of the nonwoven fabrics (corresponding to a resin patternon the belt) in the range of about 5% to about 25%, about 5% to about20%, or about 10% to about 20%, of a total area of the portion of thenonwoven fabrics, with the remainder of the portion of the nonwovenfabrics being a total region two area (e.g., high basis weight areas)(corresponding to areas on the belt that are resin free). The higherbasis weight areas are typically softer than the low basis weight areasbecause the higher basis weight areas have more fibers. Nonwoven fabricshaving low basis weight areas in the range of about 5% to about 20% ofthe total nonwoven fabric may typically achieve good dryness and goodsoftness. Below 5% low basis weight areas, typically high softness maybe achieved, but typically not good dryness. Above 25% low basis weightareas, typically good dryness may be achieved, but typically not goodsoftness.

In addition to the benefits detailed above, another benefit of theshaped, soft and textured nonwoven fabrics of the present disclosure isthe ability to provide a nonwoven fabric with microzones that compriseone or more hydrophobic regions and one or more separate hydrophilicregions. The hydrophilicity and/or hydrophobicity in a particular regionof the microzone may be determined by a Time to Wick measurement usingthe Time to Wick Test Method as described herein and/or a Contact Anglemeasurement using the Contact Angle Test Method as described herein. Asused herein, the term “hydrophilic”, in reference to a particular regionof the microzone, means that when tested using the Time to Wick TestMethod, the Time to Wick for that particular region is less than 10seconds. As used herein, the term “hydrophobic”, in reference to aparticular region of the microzone, means that when tested using theContact Angle Test Method, the Contact Angle for that particular regionis 90° or greater.

Table 7 below details Contact Angle and Time to Wick measurements forshaped, soft, and textured nonwoven fabrics as detailed herein. For bothExamples 11 and 12 below, the nonwoven fabric was made on a belt asdescribed in FIG. 16, with the nonwoven fabrics having an appearancesimilar to that shown in FIG. 2.

TABLE 7 Contact Angle and Time to Wick Values for Shaped, Soft, andTextured Nonwoven Fabrics of the Disclosure Time to Wick Example No.Region Contact Angle (θc) (seconds) Example 11 First Region 135 60Second Region 0 0.307 Example 12 First Region 126 60 Second Region 02.360

Example 11

A bicomponent spunbond nonwoven fabric was produced by spinning a 50:50ratio of polyethylene sheath (Aspun-6850-A obtained from Dow chemicalcompany) and polypropylene core (PH-835 obtained from LyondellBasell) ina trilobal fiber configuration. The nonwoven fabric was spun on aforming belt having a repeating pattern as described in FIG. 16 movingat a linear speed of about 25 meters per minute to form a fabric 10having an average basis weight of 25 grams per square meter with arepeating pattern of diamond shapes as shown in FIG. 2. Fibers of thefabric were compacted by compaction rolls 70, 72, but rather than becalendared, further bonding was achieved by a through-air bonding unitat a temperature of 145° C.

A surfactant, Stantex S 6327 (a combination of castor oil ethoxylateswith PEG diesters), supplied by Pulcra Chemicals, was then disposed onthe back side surface of the nonwoven fabric (i.e., the flat sidesurface opposite the side with the relatively pillowy three-dimensionalfeatures disposed thereon) through a kiss coating process. The coatingprocess was performed using a Reicofil Kiss Roll and Omega dryingprocess, both of which are generally known in the art. The surfactantused in the kiss roll process was at a 6% surfactant concentration inwater at a temperature of 40° C. The kiss roll contact angle was set at250° and the drying temperature was 80° C. The nonwoven fabric was thenbrought into contact with the kiss roll operating at a speed of 13 rpm,delivering 0.45 wt % surfactant to the nonwoven fabric (% surfactant isweight of added surfactant per 1 m² divided by weight of 1 m² nonwovenfabric).

Example 12

A bicomponent spunbond nonwoven fabric was produced by spinning a 50:50ratio of polyethylene sheath (Aspun-6850-A obtained from Dow chemicalcompany) and polypropylene core (PH-835 obtained from LyondellBasell) ina trilobal fiber configuration. The nonwoven fabric was spun on aforming belt having a repeating pattern as described in FIG. 16 movingat a linear speed of about 25 meters per minute to form a fabric 10having an average basis weight of 25 grams per square meter with arepeating pattern of diamond shapes as shown in FIG. 2. Fibers of thefabric were compacted by compaction rolls 70, 72, but rather than becalendared, further bonding was achieved by a through-air bonding unitat a temperature of 145° C.

A surfactant, Stantex S 6327 (a combination of castor oil ethoxylateswith PEG diesters), supplied by Pulcra Chemicals, was then disposed onthe front side surface of the nonwoven fabric (i.e., the side with therelatively pillowy three-dimensional features disposed thereon) throughan inkjet printing process. The inkjet printing process was performedusing a Dimatix DMP 2831 inkjet printer, fitted with a cartridge model #DMC-11610/PM 700-10702-01 (10 pL). The print head temperature was 40° C.The surfactant used in the inkjet printing process consisted of 75% w/wStantex S 6327 and 25% w/w Ethanol. Surfactant was printed in the secondregions of the microzones of the nonwoven fabric by orienting thenonwoven fabric sample such that the second regions of a first row ofmicrozones were aligned with the print head direction and printing afirst series of straight lines, with droplet spacing adjusted to 170 um.The nonwoven fabric sample was then turned by an angle such that thesecond regions of a second row of microzones were aligned with the printhead and a second series of straight lines were printed at 170 um. Thebasis weight of the fibers of the second region is about 16.0 gsm. Thebasis weight of the surfactant that was inkjet printed onto the secondregion is about 0.25 gsm. Accordingly, the amount of surfactant printedlocally on the second region was determined to be about 1.6 wt %surfactant (0.25 gsm/16.0 gsm). Overall, the amount of surfactantprinted on the nonwoven fabric sample was determined by the ratiobetween printed line width and line spacing to be at about 0.2 wt %surfactant.

In addition to Stantex S 6327, the use of other surfactants to renderfirst and/or second regions of particular microzones hydrophilic and/orhydrophobic (though any application method) is considered within thescope of the present disclosure.

The nonwoven fabrics detailed above comprise microzones with regionshaving differences in intensive properties, such as basis weight,density, or thickness, for example. Those same nonwoven fabrics may alsosimultaneously comprise such regions of the microzones that areparticularly and separately hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic. Any of thenonwoven fabric examples detailed herein (e.g., samples that includezones and/or microzones with regions having differences in thickness,basis weight and/or volumetric density, and/or surfaces with the variousTS7, TS750, and D values disclosed herein) may further have regions of amicrozone with differences in hydrophilicity as detailed herein.Hydrophilicity may be provided through targeted application(s) ofsurfactant(s) onto particular regions of the microzones of the nonwovenfabric. For example, the second region of a microzone may havesurfactant disposed thereon, while the first region of the samemicrozone may have no surfactant disposed thereon. Moreover, the firstregion of a microzone may have surfactant disposed thereon, while thesecond region of the same microzone may have no surfactant disposedthereon. For instance, in one microzone, the first or second region mayhave from about 0.01% to about 5.0%, about 0.05% to about 4.0%, about1.0% to about 3.0%, and any concentric range within the range of about0.01% to about 5.0% surfactant, and the other region has no surfactant(i.e., surfactant free). As an example, in one microzone, the secondregion may have from about 0.01% to about 5.0%, about 0.05% to about4.0%, about 1.0% to about 3.0%, and any concentric range within therange of about 0.01% to about 5.0% surfactant, and the first region hasno surfactant (i.e., surfactant free). Accordingly, some nonwovenfabrics disclosed herein have a microzone with at least one of the firstand second regions having a surfactant, and the ratio of % surfactant inthe first region to % surfactant in the second region is less than 1.Further, some nonwoven fabrics disclosed herein have a microzone with atleast the second region of the microzone having a surfactant, and theratio of % surfactant in the first region to % surfactant in the secondregion is less than 1.

As another example, the second region of a microzone may have aparticular amount of surfactant or % surfactant disposed thereon, whilethe first region of the same microzone may have a different amount ofsurfactant or % surfactant disposed thereon. For instance, in onemicrozone, the first region may have from about 0.01% to about 2.0%,about 0.05% to about 1.5%, about 0.1% to about 1.0%, and any concentricrange within the range of about 0.01% to about 2.0% surfactant, and thesecond region may have a differing amount. Moreover, in one microzone,the second region may have from about 0.01% to about 5.00, about 0.05%to about 4.0%, about 1.0% to about 3.0%, and any concentric range withinthe range of about 0.01% to about 5.0% surfactant, and the first regionmay have a differing amount. The % surfactant for a particular region ofa microzone may be determined by taking the grams per square meter ofsurfactant disposed in the particular region and dividing it by thebasis weight of the fibers of the shaped nonwoven fabric containedwithin the same region. The grams per square meter of surfactantdisposed in a particular region may be determined using any currentlyknown method in the art (e.g., gravimetric, etc.). The basis weight ofthe fibers of the nonwoven fabric contained within a particular regionof a microzone may also be determined using any currently known methodin the art (e.g., gravimetric, micro-CT, etc.).

A surfactant may be disposed on the nonwoven fabrics by any methodgenerally known to those of skill in the art. Particular examplescomprise kiss coating, inkjet printing, gravure printing, off-setgravure printing, flexo-graphic printing of the surfactant andregistered printing of the surfactant. Any such method may disposesurfactant onto either the first and/or second surface of the nonwovenfabrics. For the overall shaped nonwoven fabric (taking into account allof the individual zones and microzones on the fabric), the surfactantmay be added to the shaped nonwoven fabric in an amount from about 0.01%to about 2.0%, about 0.05% to about 1.5%, about 0.1% to about 1.0%, andany concentric range within the range of about 0.01% to about 2.0%. Tocalculate % surfactant added to the overall shaped nonwoven fabric,divide the grams per square meter of surfactant in the overall shapednonwoven fabric by the basis weight of the overall shaped nonwovenfabric. The grams per square meter of surfactant disposed in the overallshaped nonwoven fabric may be determined using any currently knownmethod in the art (e.g., gravimetric, etc.). The basis weight of theoverall shaped nonwoven fabric may also be determined using anycurrently known method in the art (e.g., gravimetric, micro-CT, etc.).

Referring again to FIGS. 25 and 26 which show a portion of one patternof a nonwoven fabric 10, a first zone 110 (on the left side of FIG. 25)is characterized by generally MD-oriented rows of variable width firstregions 300 separated by MD-oriented rows of variable width secondregions 310 (first and second region being within a microzone). Thefirst region is also the three-dimensional feature 20 that defines thefirst and second regions 300, 310. A three-dimensional feature may be aportion of the nonwoven fabric 10 that was formed between or around araised element of the forming belt, which in this description is thefirst region 300, such that the resulting structure has a relativelygreater dimension in the Z-direction, a relatively higher basis weight,and a lower volumetric density, when compared to the second region 310.Moreover, the first region 300 may be hydrophobic and the second region310 may be hydrophilic. Targeted addition of a surfactant to the secondregion 310 of the microzone may cause the second region to behydrophilic. Accordingly, the first region 300 of the microzone may havea Contact Angle of greater than about 900, or between about 90° andabout 140°, or between about 1100 and about 135°, or between about 125°and about 135°, or any concentric range contained within between about900 and about 140°, when tested by the Contact Angle Test Methoddetailed herein. The second region 310 of the microzone may have aContact Angle of less than 90° when tested by the contact Angle TestMethod detailed herein. The first region 300 of the microzone may have aTime to Wick value of greater than about 10 seconds, or between about 10seconds and 60 seconds, as measured by the Time to Wick Test Methoddetailed herein. The second region 310 of the microzone may have a Timeto Wick value of less than about 10 seconds, less than about 5 seconds,or less than about 2.5 seconds, less than about 1 second, less thanabout 0.5 seconds, or in the range of about 0.5 seconds to about 10seconds, or about 0.5 seconds to about 5 seconds, as measured by theTime to Wick Test Method detailed herein. Nonwoven fabrics contemplatedherein include any of the above detailed parameter ranges for ContactAngle and/or Time to Wick measurements for the first region and/or thesecond region in combination with any of the other herein disclosedintensive properties/property differences for the same or differentregions in the same or different microzone on the shaped nonwovenfabric.

Shaped nonwoven fabrics having the above detailed microzones withregions having differences in basis weight, density, or thickness, forexample, while also simultaneously having such regions of a particularmicrozone being separately hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic may providemany useful applications such as topsheet materials for absorbentarticles, as well as use in medical pads, wipes and cleaning pads.

Test Methods: Localized Basis Weight

Localized basis weight of the nonwoven fabric may be determined byseveral available techniques, but a simple representative techniqueinvolves a punch die having an area of 3.0 cm² which is used to cut asample piece of the web from the selected region from the overall areaof a nonwoven fabric. The sample piece is then weighed and divided byits area to yield the localized basis weight of the nonwoven fabric inunits of grams per meter squared. Results are reported as a mean of 2samples per selected region.

In-Bag Stack Height Test

The in-bag stack height of a package of absorbent articles is determinedas follows:

Equipment

A thickness tester with a flat, rigid horizontal sliding plate is used.The thickness tester is configured so that the horizontal sliding platemoves freely in a vertical direction with the horizontal sliding platealways maintained in a horizontal orientation directly above a flat,rigid horizontal base plate. The thickness tester includes a suitabledevice for measuring the gap between the horizontal sliding plate andthe horizontal base plate to within ±0.5 mm. The horizontal slidingplate and the horizontal base plate are larger than the surface of theabsorbent article package that contacts each plate, i.e. each plateextends past the contact surface of the absorbent article package in alldirections. The horizontal sliding plate exerts a downward force of850±1 gram-force (8.34 N) on the absorbent article package, which may beachieved by placing a suitable weight on the center of thenon-package-contacting top surface of the horizontal sliding plate sothat the total mass of the sliding plate plus added weight is 850+1grams.

Test Procedure

Absorbent article packages are equilibrated at 23±2° C. and 50±5%relative humidity prior to measurement.

The horizontal sliding plate is raised and an absorbent article packageis placed centrally under the horizontal sliding plate in such a waythat the absorbent articles within the package are in a horizontalorientation (see FIG. 43). Any handle or other packaging feature on thesurfaces of the package that would contact either of the plates isfolded flat against the surface of the package so as to minimize theirimpact on the measurement. The horizontal sliding plate is loweredslowly until it contacts the top surface of the package and thenreleased. The gap between the horizontal plates is measured to within±0.5 mm ten seconds after releasing the horizontal sliding plate. Fiveidentical packages (same size packages and same absorbent articlescounts) are measured and the arithmetic mean is reported as the packagewidth. The “In-Bag Stack Height”=(package width/absorbent article countper stack)×10 is calculated and reported to within ±0.5 mm.

Micro-CT Intensive Property Measurement Method

The micro-CT intensive property measurement method measures the basisweight, thickness and volumetric density values within visuallydiscernable regions of a substrate sample. It is based on analysis of a3D x-ray sample image obtained on a micro-CT instrument (a suitableinstrument is the Scanco μCT 50 available from Scanco Medical AG,Switzerland, or equivalent). The micro-CT instrument is a cone beammicrotomograph with a shielded cabinet. A maintenance free x-ray tube isused as the source with an adjustable diameter focal spot. The x-raybeam passes through the sample, where some of the x-rays are attenuatedby the sample. The extent of attenuation correlates to the mass ofmaterial the x-rays have to pass through. The transmitted x-rayscontinue on to the digital detector array and generate a 2D projectionimage of the sample. A 3D image of the sample is generated by collectingseveral individual projection images of the sample as it is rotated,which are then reconstructed into a single 3D image. The instrument isinterfaced with a computer running software to control the imageacquisition and save the raw data. The 3D image is then analyzed usingimage analysis software (a suitable image analysis software is MATLABavailable from The Mathworks, Inc., Natick, Mass., or equivalent) tomeasure the basis weight, thickness and volumetric density intensiveproperties of regions within the sample.

Sample Preparation:

To obtain a sample for measurement, lay a single layer of the drysubstrate material out flat and die cut a circular piece with a diameterof 30 mm.

If the substrate material is a layer of an absorbent article, forexample a topsheet, backsheet nonwoven, acquisition layer, distributionlayer, or other component layer; tape the absorbent article to a rigidflat surface in a planar configuration. Carefully separate theindividual substrate layer from the absorbent article. A scalpel and/orcryogenic spray (such as Cyto-Freeze, Control Company, Houston Tex.) canbe used to remove a substrate layer from additional underlying layers,if necessary, to avoid any longitudinal and lateral extension of thematerial. Once the substrate layer has been removed from the articleproceed with die cutting the sample as described above.

If the substrate material is in the form of a wet wipe, open a newpackage of wet wipes and remove the entire stack from the package.Remove a single wipe from the middle of the stack, lay it out flat andallow it to dry completely prior to die cutting the sample for analysis.

A sample may be cut from any location containing the visuallydiscernible zone to be analyzed. Within a zone, regions to be analyzedare ones associated with a three-dimensional feature defining amicrozone. The microzone comprises a least two visually discernibleregions. A zone, three-dimensional feature, or microzone may be visuallydiscernable due to changes in texture, elevation, or thickness. Regionswithin different samples taken from the same substrate material may beanalyzed and compared to each other. Care should be taken to avoidfolds, wrinkles or tears when selecting a location for sampling.

Image Acquisition:

Set up and calibrate the micro-CT instrument according to themanufacturer's specifications. Place the sample into the appropriateholder, between two rings of low density material, which have an innerdiameter of 25 mm. This will allow the central portion of the sample tolay horizontal and be scanned without having any other materialsdirectly adjacent to its upper and lower surfaces. Measurements shouldbe taken in this region. The 3D image field of view is approximately 35mm on each side in the xy-plane with a resolution of approximately 5000by 5000 pixels, and with a sufficient number of 7 micron thick slicescollected to fully include the z-direction of the sample. Thereconstructed 3D image resolution contains isotropic voxels of 7microns. Images are acquired with the source at 45 kVp and 133 μA withno additional low energy filter. These current and voltage settings maybe optimized to produce the maximum contrast in the projection data withsufficient x-ray penetration through the sample, but once optimized heldconstant for all substantially similar samples. A total of 1500projections images are obtained with an integration time of 1000 ms and3 averages. The projection images are reconstructed into the 3D image,and saved in 16-bit RAW format to preserve the full detector outputsignal for analysis.

Image Processing:

Load the 3D image into the image analysis software. Threshold the 3Dimage at a value which separates, and removes, the background signal dueto air, but maintains the signal from the sample fibers within thesubstrate.

Three 2D intensive property images are generated from the threshold 3Dimage. The first is the Basis Weight Image. To generate this image, thevalue for each voxel in an xy-plane slice is summed with all of itscorresponding voxel values in the other z-direction slices containingsignal from the sample. This creates a 2D image where each pixel now hasa value equal to the cumulative signal through the entire sample.

In order to convert the raw data values in the Basis Weight Image intoreal values a basis weight calibration curve is generated. Obtain asubstrate that is of substantially similar composition as the samplebeing analyzed and has a uniform basis weight. Follow the proceduresdescribed above to obtain at least ten replicate samples of thecalibration curve substrate. Accurately measure the basis weight, bytaking the mass to the nearest 0.0001 g and dividing by the sample areaand converting to grams per square meter (gsm), of each of the singlelayer calibration samples and calculate the average to the nearest 0.01gsm. Following the procedures described above, acquire a micro-CT imageof a single layer of the calibration sample substrate. Following theprocedure described above process the micro-CT image, and generate aBasis Weight Image containing raw data values. The real basis weightvalue for this sample is the average basis weight value measured on thecalibration samples. Next, stack two layers of the calibration substratesamples on top of each other, and acquire a micro-CT image of the twolayers of calibration substrate. Generate a basis weight raw data imageof both layers together, whose real basis weight value is equal to twicethe average basis weight value measured on the calibration samples.Repeat this procedure of stacking single layers of the calibrationsubstrate, acquiring a micro-CT image of all of the layers, generating araw data basis weight image of all of the layers, the real basis weightvalue of which is equal to the number of layers times the average basisweight value measured on the calibration samples. A total of at leastfour different basis weight calibration images are obtained. The basisweight values of the calibration samples must include values above andbelow the basis weight values of the original sample being analyzed toensure an accurate calibration. The calibration curve is generated byperforming a linear regression on the raw data versus the real basisweight values for the four calibration samples. This linear regressionmust have an R2 value of at least 0.95, if not repeat the entirecalibration procedure. This calibration curve is now used to convert theraw data values into real basis weights.

The second intensive property 2D image is the Thickness Image. Togenerate this image the upper and lower surfaces of the sample areidentified, and the distance between these surfaces is calculated givingthe sample thickness. The upper surface of the sample is identified bystarting at the uppermost z-direction slice and evaluating each slicegoing through the sample to locate the z-direction voxel for all pixelpositions in the xy-plane where sample signal was first detected. Thesame procedure is followed for identifying the lower surface of thesample, except the z-direction voxels located are all the positions inthe xy-plane where sample signal was last detected. Once the upper andlower surfaces have been identified they are smoothed with a 15×15median filter to remove signal from stray fibers. The 2D Thickness Imageis then generated by counting the number of voxels that exist betweenthe upper and lower surfaces for each of the pixel positions in thexy-plane. This raw thickness value is then converted to actual distance,in microns, by multiplying the voxel count by the 7 μm slice thicknessresolution.

The third intensive property 2D image is the Volumetric Density Image.To generate this image divide each xy-plane pixel value in the BasisWeight Image, in units of gsm, by the corresponding pixel in theThickness Image, in units of microns. The units of the VolumetricDensity Image are grams per cubic centimeter (g/cc).

Micro-CT Basis Weight, Thickness and Volumetric Density IntensiveProperties:

Begin by identifying the region to be analyzed. A region to be analyzedis one associated with a three-dimensional feature defining a microzone.The microzone comprises a least two visually discernible regions. Azone, three-dimensional feature, or microzone may be visuallydiscernable due to changes in texture, elevation, or thickness. Next,identify the boundary of the region to be analyzed. The boundary of aregion is identified by visual discernment of differences in intensiveproperties when compared to other regions within the sample. Forexample, a region boundary can be identified based by visuallydiscerning a thickness difference when compared to another region in thesample. Any of the intensive properties can be used to discern regionboundaries on either the physical sample itself of any of the micro-CTintensive property images. Once the boundary of the region has beenidentified, draw an oval or circular “region of interest” (ROI) withinthe interior of the region. The ROI should have an area of at least 0.1mm2, and be selected to measure an area with intensive property valuesrepresentative of the identified region. From each of the threeintensive property images calculate the average basis weight, thicknessand volumetric density within the ROI. Record these values as theregion's basis weight to the nearest 0.01 gsm, thickness to the nearest0.1 micron and volumetric density to the nearest 0.0001 g/cc.

Emtec Test

The Emtec Test is performed on portions of interest of outer covernonwoven materials or topsheets. In this test, TS7, TS750, and D valuesare measured using an Emtec Tissue Softness Analyzer (“Emtec TSA”)(Emtec Electronic GmbH, Leipzig, Germany) interfaced with a computerrunning Emtec TSA software (version 3.19 or equivalent). The Emtec TSAincludes a rotor with vertical blades which rotate on the test sample ata defined and calibrated rotational speed (set by manufacturer) andcontact force of 100 mN. Contact between the vertical blades and thetest sample creates vibrations both in the blades and in the test piece,and the resulting sound is recorded by a microphone within theinstrument. The recorded sound file is then analyzed by the Emtec TSAsoftware to determine TS7 and TS750 values. The D value is a measure ofsample stiffness and is based on the vertical distance required for thecontact force of the blades on test sample to be increased from 100 mNto 600 mN. The sample preparation, instrument operation, and testingprocedures are performed according the instrument manufacturer'sspecifications.

Sample Preparation

A test sample is prepared by cutting a square or circular portion ofinterest from the outer cover nonwoven material or topsheet of anabsorbent article. It is preferable that freeze spray is not used toremove the portion of the outer cover nonwoven material or topsheet tobe analyzed, though it is acceptable to use freeze spray in a distalregion to aid in initiating the separation of layers. Test samples arecut to a length and width (diameter in the case of a circular sample) ofno less than about 90 mm and no greater than about 120 mm to ensure thesample can be clamped into the TSA instrument properly. (If an absorbentarticle does not contain a sufficiently large area of the substrate ofinterest to extract a sample of the size specified above, it isacceptable to sample equivalent material from roll stock.) Test samplesare selected to avoid unusually large creases or folds within thetesting region. Six substantially similar replicate samples are preparedfor testing.

All samples are equilibrated at TAPPI standard temperature and relativehumidity conditions (23° C.±2 C.° and 50%±2%) for at least 2 hours priorto conducting the TSA testing, which is also conducted under TAPPIconditions.

Testing Procedure

The instrument is calibrated according to the Emtec's instructions usingthe 1-point calibration method with the appropriate reference standards(so-called “ref. 2 samples,” or equivalent, available from Emtec).

A test sample is mounted in the instrument with the surface of interestfacing upward, and the test is performed according to the manufacturer'sinstructions. The software displays values for TS7, TS750, and D whenthe automated instrument testing routine is complete. TS7 and TS750 areeach recorded to the nearest 0.01 dB V² rms, and D is recorded to thenearest 0.01 mm/N. The test sample is then removed from the instrumentand discarded. This testing procedure is performed individually on thecorresponding surfaces of interest of each of the six of the replicatesamples (wearer-facing surface for topsheet samples and garment-facingsurface for outer cover nonwoven material samples).

The value of TS7, TS750, and D are each averaged (arithmetic mean)across the six sample replicates. The average values of TS7 and TS750are reported to the nearest 0.01 dB V² rms. The average value of D isreported to the nearest 0.01 mm/N.

Contact Angle and Time to Wick Test Methods

Contact Angle and Time to Wick measurements are determined using asessile drop experiment. A specified volume of Type II reagent distilledwater (as defined in ASTM D1193) is applied to the surface of a testsample using an automated liquid delivery system. A high speed videocamera captures time-stamped images of the drop over a 60 second timeperiod at a rate of 900 frames per second. The contact angle between thedrop and the surface of the test sample is determined for each capturedimage by image analysis software. The time to wick is determined as thetime it takes the contact angle of a drop absorbing into the test sampleto decrease to a contact angle <10°. All measurements are performed atconstant temperature (23° C.±2 CO) and relative humidity (50%±2%).

An automated contact angle tester is required to perform this test. Thesystem includes of a light source, a video camera, a horizontal specimenstage, a liquid delivery system with a pump and micro syringe and acomputer equipped with software suitable for video image capture, imageanalysis and reporting contact angle data. A suitable instrument is theOptical Contact Angle Measuring System OCA 20 (DataPhysics Instruments,Filderstadt, Germany), or equivalent. The system must be able to deliveran 8.2 microliter drop and be capable of capturing images at a rate of900 frames per second. The system is calibrated and operated per themanufacturer's instructions, unless explicitly stated otherwise in thistesting procedure. To obtain a test sample for measurement, lay a singlelayer of the dry substrate material out flat and cut a rectangular testsample 15 mm in width and about 70 mm in length. The width of the samplemay be reduced as necessary to ensure that the test region of interestis not obscured by surrounding features during testing. With a narrowersample strip care must be taken that the liquid drop does not reach theedge of the test sample during testing, otherwise the test must berepeated. Precondition samples at 23° C.±2 C.° and 50%±2% relativehumidity for 2 hours prior to testing.

Sample Preparation

A test sample may be cut from any location containing the visuallydiscernible zone to be analyzed. Within a zone, regions to be analyzedare ones associated with a three-dimensional feature defining amicrozone. The microzone comprises at least two visually discernibleregions. A zone, three-dimensional feature, or microzone may be visuallydiscernable due to changes in texture, elevation, or thickness. Regionswithin different test samples taken from the same substrate material canbe analyzed and compared to each other. Care should be taken to avoidfolds, wrinkles or tears when selecting a location for sampling.

If the substrate material is a layer of an absorbent article, forexample a topsheet or outer cover nonwoven material, acquisition layer,distribution layer, or other component layer; tape the absorbent articleto a rigid flat surface in a planar configuration. Carefully separatethe individual substrate layer from the absorbent article. A scalpeland/or cryogenic spray (such as Cyto-Freeze, Control Company, HoustonTex.) may be used to remove a substrate layer from additional underlyinglayers, if necessary, to avoid any longitudinal and lateral extension ofthe material. Once the substrate layer has been removed from theabsorbent article proceed with cutting the test sample. If the substratematerial is in the form of a wet wipe, open a new package of wet wipesand remove the entire stack from the package. Remove a single wipe fromthe middle of the stack, lay it out flat and allow it to dry completelyprior to cutting the sample for analysis.

Testing Procedure

The test sample is positioned onto the horizontal specimen stage withthe test region in the camera's field of view beneath the liquiddelivery system needle, with the test side facing up. The test sample issecured in such a way that it lies flat but unstrained, and anyinteraction between the liquid drop and the underlying surface isavoided to prevent undue capillary forces. A 27 gauge blunt tipstainless steel needle (ID 0.23 mm, OD 0.41 mm) is positioned above thetest sample with at least 2 mm of the needle tip in the camera's fieldof view. Adjust the specimen stage to achieve a distance of about 3 mmbetween the tip of the needle and the surface of the test sample. An 8.2microliter drop of reagent distilled water is formed at a rate of 1microliter per second and allowed to freely fall onto the surface of thetest sample. Video image capture is initiated prior to the dropcontacting the surface of the test sample, and subsequently a continualseries of images is collected for a duration of 60 seconds after thedrop contacts the surface of the test sample. Repeat this procedure fora total of five (5) substantially similar replicate test regions. Use afresh test sample or ensure that the previous drop's wetted area isavoided during subsequent measurements.

On each of the images captured by the video camera, the test samplesurface and the contour of the drop is identified and used by the imageanalysis software to calculate the Contact Angle for each drop image andreported to the nearest 0.1 degree. The Contact Angle is the angleformed by the surface of the test sample and the tangent to the surfaceof the liquid drop in contact with the test sample. For each series ofimages from a test, time zero is the time at which the liquid drop makescontact with the surface of the test sample. Measure and record theContact Angle on the drop image that corresponds to time zero plus five(5) seconds. The Contact Angle at five seconds is reported as 0° if thedroplet has been completely absorbed by the test sample within 5seconds. Repeat this procedure for the five replicate test regions.Calculate the arithmetic mean of the Contact Angle at time zero plusfive seconds for the five replicate test regions, and report this valueas the Contact Angle to the nearest 0.1 degrees.

Time to Wick is defined as the time it takes the contact angle of a dropabsorbing into the test sample to decrease to a contact angle <10°. Timeto Wick is measured by identifying the first image of a given serieswhere the contact angle has decreased to a contact angle <10°, and thenbased on that image, calculating and reporting the length of time thathas elapsed from time zero. Time to Wick is reported as 60 seconds if acontact angle less than 10° is not reached within 60 seconds. Repeatthis procedure for the five replicate test regions. Calculate thearithmetic mean of the Time to Wick for the five replicate test regions,and report this value to the nearest 0.1 milliseconds.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or relatedpatent or application and any patent application or patent to which thisapplication claims priority or benefit thereof, is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded orotherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission thatit is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimedherein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other referenceor references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention.Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in thisdocument conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in adocument incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assignedto that term in this document shall govern.

While particular examples of the present disclosure have beenillustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other changes and modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It istherefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes andmodifications that are within the scope of this present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An absorbent article comprising: a topsheet; abacksheet film; an absorbent core positioned at least partiallyintermediate the topsheet and the backsheet film; the topsheetcomprising a nonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric comprising awearer-facing surface; first and second visually discernible zones onthe wearer-facing surface; each of the first and second visuallydiscernible zones having a pattern of three-dimensional features; eachof the three-dimensional features defining a microzone comprising afirst region and a second region; the first and second regions having adifference in values for an intensive property; the difference in valuesfor an intensive property for at least one of the microzones in thefirst zone is different from the difference in values for the intensiveproperty for at least one of the microzones in the second zone; whereina portion of the wearer-facing surface has a TS7 value in the range ofabout 1 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms, according to the Emtec Test;and wherein the portion of the wearer-facing surface has a TS750 valuein the range of about 6 dB V² rms to about 30 dB V² rms, according tothe Emtec Test.
 2. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the portionof the wearer-facing surface has a D value in the range of about 2 mm/Nto about 6 mm/N, according to the Emtec Test.
 3. The absorbent articleof claim 1, wherein the nonwoven fabric comprises a spunbond nonwovenfabric.
 4. The absorbent article of claim 1, comprising an outer covernonwoven fabric in a facing relationship with at least a portion of thebacksheet film, the outer cover nonwoven material comprising a secondnonwoven fabric comprising a garment-facing surface; third and fourthvisually discernible zones on the garment-facing surface of the outercover nonwoven material; each of the third and fourth zones having apattern of three-dimensional features; each of the three-dimensionalfeatures defining a microzone comprising a third region and a fourthregion; the third and fourth regions having a difference in values foran intensive property; the difference in values for an intensiveproperty for at least one of the microzones in the third zone isdifferent from the difference in values for the intensive property forat least one of the microzones in the fourth zone; wherein a portion ofthe garment-facing surface of the outer cover nonwoven material has aTS7 value in the range of about 1 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms,according to the Emtec Test; and wherein the portion of thegarment-facing surface of the outer cover nonwoven material has a TS750value in the range of about 6 dB V² rms to about 30 dB V² rms, accordingto the Emtec Test.
 5. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein theportion of the garment-facing surface of the outer cover material has aD value in the range of about 2 mm/N to about 6 mm/N, according to theEmtec Test.
 6. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein the nonwovenfabric of the topsheet and/or the second nonwoven fabric of the outercover nonwoven material comprise crimped fibers.
 7. The absorbentarticle of claim 1, wherein the intensive property is thickness, andwherein the difference in thickness between the first and second regionsof at least one of the microzones is greater than about 25 microns,according to the Micro-CT Intensive Property Measurement Method.
 8. Theabsorbent article of claim 1, wherein the intensive property is basisweight, and wherein the difference in basis weight between the first andsecond regions of at least one of the microzones is greater than about 5gsm, according to the Micro-CT Intensive Property Measurement Method. 9.The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the intensive property isvolumetric density, and wherein the difference in volumetric densitybetween the first and second regions of at least one of the microzonesis greater than about 0.042 g/cc, according to the Micro-CT IntensiveProperty Measurement Method.
 10. The absorbent article of claim 1,wherein in at least one of the microzones, the first region of the atleast one microzone is hydrophobic and the second region of the at leastone microzone is hydrophilic.
 11. The absorbent article of claim 1,wherein in at least one of the microzones, the second region of the atleast one microzone comprises a surfactant and the first region of theat least one microzone is surfactant free.
 12. The absorbent article ofclaim 1, wherein in at least one of the microzones, the first region atthe at least one microzone exhibits a Contact Angle of greater than 90degrees, according to the Contact Angle Test Method.
 13. The absorbentarticle of claim 1, wherein the portion of wearer-facing surface has aTS750 in the range of about 6 dB V² rms to about 15 dB V² rms, accordingto the Emtec Test.
 14. The absorbent article of claim 4, wherein theportion of garment-facing surface has a TS750 in the range of about 6 dBV² rms to about 15 dB V² rms, according to the Emtec Test.
 15. Theabsorbent article of claim 4, wherein the outer cover nonwoven materialis hydrophobic.
 16. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein theportion of wearer-facing surface has a total region one area in therange of about 5% to about 25% of a total area of the portion of thewearer-facing surface, with the remainder of the portion of thewearer-facing surface being a total region two area.
 17. The absorbentarticle of claim 4, wherein the portion of garment-facing surface has atotal region one area in the range of about 5% to about 25% of a totalarea of the portion of the garment-facing surface, with the remainder ofthe portion of the wearer-facing surface being a total region two area.18. The absorbent article of claim 1, wherein the first region has aTime to Wick value in the range of about 10 second to about 60 seconds,according to the Time to Wick Test Method.
 19. The absorbent article ofclaim 1, wherein the second region has a Time to Wick value in the rangeof about 0.5 seconds to about 10 seconds, according to the Time to WickTest Method.
 20. An absorbent article comprising: a topsheet; abacksheet film; an absorbent core positioned at least partiallyintermediate the topsheet and the backsheet; the topsheet comprising anonwoven fabric, the nonwoven fabric comprising a wearer-facing surface;the nonwoven fabric comprising a visually discernible pattern ofthree-dimensional features on the wearer-facing surface, each of thethree-dimensional features defining a microzone comprising a firstregion and a second region, the first and second regions having adifference in values for an intensive property, wherein the intensiveproperty is one or more of: thickness, basis weight, and volumetricdensity; wherein a portion of the wearer-facing surface has a TS7 valuein the range of about 1 dB V² rms to about 4.5 dB V² rms, according tothe Emtec Test; and wherein the portion of the wearer-facing surface hasa TS750 value in the range of about 6 dB V² rms to about 30 dB V² rms,according to the Emtec Test.